Expedition #46

2012 - Photography (Photography)

Robert Zhao Renhui


Expedition #46 is a work from the series “The Glacier Study Group,” which consists of artists, scientists, activists, and enthusiasts of glacial and polar activity in the Artic Circle to conduct scientific investigation, data collection, and glacier sampling. Recent media attention on global warming and climate change has driven interest in increased glacial activity. The group spends long period of each year in the harsh Arctic environment to acquire in-depth knowledge of these changes while experiencing the landscape firsthand. Expedition #46 presents voyeuristic images of human activity in expansive surreal glacial landscapes to elicit a sense of discovery in the viewer, who travels by-proxy via Zhao’s photographic series. The viewer is able to observe the Study Group’s journey in observing their environment and engage in critical reflection of the varying documentary spectatorship deployed in the visual discourse of environmentalism and scientific research.


Robert Zhao Renhui’s multimedia practice questions fact-based presentations of ecological conservation and reveals the manner in which documentary, journalistic, and scientific reports sensationalize nature in order to elicit viewer sympathy. Zhao portrays humans as figures curious about their natural environment, which is at times mysterious and unpredictable. Through observing human behavior in front of animals, Zhao’s critical lens examines various modes and preconceived notions of what he calls a “zoological gaze”—the manner through which humans view animals and nature. This perspective challenges the dualistic separation between the human and the non-human worlds. Under the name of a fictional institution, The Institute of Critical Zoologists (ICZ), Zhao’s work creates visual ambiguities that destabilize assumptions about the ways in which images present facts, represent reality, and disseminate truths. Zhao was in residency at KADIST San Francisco in 2014.


Colors:



Other related works, blended automatically  
» see more

Villa dei Fiori, September to November
© » KADIST

Robert Zhao Renhui

2014

Created during Zhao Renhui’s residency at Kadist SF in 2014, Zhao Renhui began observing and cataloguing insects inspired by the scientific impulse towards exhaustive taxonomy of Sacramento-based Dr...

Related works sharing similar palette  
» see more

Baloji and the Art of Averting the Evil Eye
© » CONTEMPORARYAND

Baloji and the Art of Averting the Evil Eye | Contemporary And search for something search C& AMÉRICA LATINA EN FR MEMBERSHIP EN FR Editorial All Editorial Features Installation Views Inside the Library Interviews News Opinions Events All Events Art Fairs Conferences Exhibitions Festivals Performances Screenings Talks / Workshops C& Projects C& Artists’ Editions C& Commissions C& Center of Unfinished Business Show me your shelves! C& Education Mentoring Program Critical Writing Workshops Lectures / Seminars Membership Opportunities Print C& Audio Archive On Tour Places Explore IN CONVERSATION INSTALLATION VIEW WE GOT ISSUES DETOX LABORATORY OF SOLIDARITY CONSCIOUS CODES CURRICULUM OF CONNECTIONS LOVE ACTUALLY OVER THE RADAR BLACK CULTURES MATTER INSIDE THE LIBRARY LOOKING BACK Follow About Contact Newsletter Advertise Imprint Data protection Membership Contemporary And (C&) is funded by: Editorial All Editorial Features Installation Views Inside the Library Interviews News Opinions Events All Events Art Fairs Conferences Exhibitions Festivals Performances Screenings Talks / Workshops C& Projects C& Artists’ Editions C& Commissions C& Center of Unfinished Business Show me your shelves! C& Education Mentoring Program Critical Writing Workshops Lectures / Seminars Membership Opportunities Print C& Audio Archive On Tour Places Explore IN CONVERSATION INSTALLATION VIEW WE GOT ISSUES DETOX LABORATORY OF SOLIDARITY CONSCIOUS CODES CURRICULUM OF CONNECTIONS LOVE ACTUALLY OVER THE RADAR BLACK CULTURES MATTER INSIDE THE LIBRARY LOOKING BACK GO TO C& AMÉRICA LATINA About Contact Newsletter Advertise Imprint Data protection Membership In Conversation Baloji and the Art of Averting the Evil Eye Musician, filmmaker, and multitalented artist Baloji talks to C& about his first feature film and how the diasporic relationship gives access to an imaginary world that breaks free from shackles...

Tips for Collecting Prints, from a Printmaking Expert - via Artsy
© » LARRY'S LIST

Miranda Metcalf, founder and host of “Pine | Copper | Lime” shares her professional advice and insights on how to develop and enjoy your own print collection....

Sans titre (Horse Day serie)
© » KADIST

Mohamed Bourouissa

2017

In his photographic series Périphérique (2005–2008), Mohamed Bourouissa used the composition of classical paintings to stage the portrait of friends and young people in the banlieue s (suburbs)...

J’ai pleuré devant la fin d’un manga
© » SLASH PARIS

J’ai pleuré devant la fin d’un manga — Edouard-Manet de Gennevilliers Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook J’ai pleuré devant la fin d’un manga — Edouard-Manet de Gennevilliers Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Previous Next J’ai pleuré devant la fin d’un manga Exhibition Ceramic, drawing, film, lithography / engraving.....

Other works by: » Robert Zhao Renhui  
» see more

Villa dei Fiori, September to November
© » KADIST

Robert Zhao Renhui

2014

Created during Zhao Renhui’s residency at Kadist SF in 2014, Zhao Renhui began observing and cataloguing insects inspired by the scientific impulse towards exhaustive taxonomy of Sacramento-based Dr...

Changi, Singapore, possibly 1970s
© » KADIST

Robert Zhao Renhui

2012

Changi, Singapore, possibly 1970s is from the series “As We Walked on Water” (2010-2012), which looks into Singapore’s history around the phenomenon of land reclamation...

He counts the stars and call them all by name
© » KADIST

Robert Zhao Renhui

2014

Created during Zhao Renhui’s residency at Kadist SF in 2014, the photographic grid features a selection of some 6,000 members from single family of flies –hoverfly– identified over the last 25 years by Sacramento-based Dr...

Proxy II (Beetles)
© » KADIST

Robert Zhao Renhui

2016

The photograph Proxy II (Beetles) by Robert Zhao Renhui belongs to a series, titled Christmas Island, Naturally, that focuses on the ecology of Christmas Island; a remote volcanic land formation in the Indian Ocean...

Related works found in the same semantic group  
» see more

Dean’s List: Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys Focus on Collecting African-American Art - via ARTnews
© » LARRY'S LIST

With their collection and related activities, the couple are bringing new definition to the role of the contemporary collector....

Guerrilla Girls Takeover Tate Modern’s Edit Shop
© » ARTLYST

In a spirited collision of art and activism, the Guerrilla Girls collective is set to ignite the Tate Edit shop.....

Diversionist
© » KADIST

Cao Fei

2004

Diversionist is part of the Cosplayers Series from 2004...

Institution Building and Cultural Ecology in Kosovo
© » KADIST

Thursday, April 5th 7pm, KADIST office, Paris Talk by Ares Shporta, in conversation by Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez Since the end of the war and now 10 years after the independence, “institution-building” has been an active part of the public vocabulary in Kosovo...