6 Mile, 3 Shadows
RongRong and inri’s seven-year artistic relationship took on new force and meaning after establishing the Three Shadows Art Centre last year. Created as a space for artists by artists, it has held a series of exhibitions dedicated to both old masters and newcomers alike. The current exhibition, From Six Mile to Three Shadows, investigates the Centre’s origin with new photographic works by RongRong and inri. The almost biographical series of images invoke both the private and public spheres the artists inhabit.

The visual journey through the Three Shadows’ building and its history begins with some of RongRong and inri’s most compelling work, detailing the destruction of their former hutong residence in Six Mile Village. The weight of their loss emanates from the dark prints, speaking to the destruction of old Beijing.

The narrative quickly changes direction, though, with voyeuristic images of RongRong and inri’s naked bodies intertwined across a barren floor. The photographs are provocative but serve more to highlight their experimental darkroom techniques as they expose multiple negatives onto the same print. The exhibition concludes with images from their new home at Three Shadows, completing the regenerative cycle.

While the biographical nature of the show reveals a definite self-absorption within RongRong and inri’s photographic practice, a sense of sincerity and beauty still underlies the narrative. The heart of their work continually returns to the human body, both abstracted in personal spaces and materialized in public settings. In a way, their self-portraiture serves as the greatest drive in renewing and expanding their own relationship and its various connections to their environment. This intense reflexitivity elevates their work to a rarely trodden plane of introspection that carries the viewer through the exhibit.

Matthew Niederhauser