Zhao Renhui

137 years

2016 Photographic Residencies

Zhao Renhui’s photographic work pays special attention to the way our attitudes and opinions shape what we consider to be true in regard to the natural world. It is in this field of choice — the environment — that Zhao Renhui puts to the test of doubt the processes of passing down knowledge and accepting truth.

Dating from the end of the nineteenth century, the book Camping and Tramping in Malaya by the British explorer Ambrose Rathborne is a study of fauna and flora in Malaya, the former states of Peninsular Malaysia. It was the first ever in-depth study of wildlife in South-East Asia written in English.

Zhao Renhui used this book as a conceptual roadmap for his series, following the path taken by the explorer from Singapore to the north of Malaysia in search of species of wild animals and plants.The photographs from this trek — reconstructions of the environments described by Rathborne — give an account of the ecological changes that have taken place in this region in the space of 137 years: “Animals no longer roam nature freely like they did 137 years ago. Most of those I encountered were confined to special nature reserves or parks. Most of the time, these are the only places where they can survive, as urban development is taking more and more land from natural areas”. The artist has incorporated into his photographic series a range of colonial postcards from the 1890s and 1960s, taken from his own collection, from which he drew inspiration to create the aesthetic backdrop of his photographs. Hidden behind the exotic landscapes and apparently peaceful animals of Zhao Renhui’s photographs are moral and ethical issues brought about by the question of man’s relationship with nature in South-East Asia. The series 137 years attempts to recount the story of these issues and write the pages of their future.

Series produced in 2017.

Zhao Renhui :137 years