Renhui Zhao : A Bird in the Hand

14 Jul-2 Sep 2011

Overview

Against the very real environmental drama unfolding across the globe, multidisciplinary artist Renhui Zhao presents the immersive exhibition A Bird in the Hand. Zhao invites viewers to step into the world of 'The Institute of Critical Zoologists' (ICZ), a multilayered conceit that operates across an astounding array of levels. Opening at the Arts Gallery on 13 July, the show is presented from the perspective of the fictional ICZ and its team of scientists who pose the genuine and pressing question: what is our relationship with nature? Zhao explores the territory of factional environments, which create elaborate quasi-factual scenarios or alternate realities to interrogate questions of art and artifice, credence and fantasy, and the borders of reality. For A Bird in the Hand the ICZ invites viewers to totally immerse themselves in Zhao's vision. Offering a retrospective of the Institute's research, the show features a disconcerting display of genuine artefacts, alongside works from the collection of the ICZ, which have been sculpted, photographed, filmed or crafted by Zhao.