Issue No. 28 – Control

What is the nature of control? The desire for it—and to be free of it—are essential parts of both life and art.

Against Nature at Gallery HO

The latest show at Gallery HO, Against Nature, presents the collective works of Sabine Mirlesse, Kechun Zhang, and Yichen Zhou curated by Grace Noh. Focusing on the consuming visuals of nature in relation to manmade structures and the human body, the photographs reveal people in natural settings, maintaining their presence when they are enveloped by the boundless qualities of land and space. There is a whimsical quality to Yichen Zhou's images, with women performing activities, from fishing to pouring a cup of tea, in constricted or displaced environments, questioning the viewer about the space one needs for an action and directly trying to poke at the vast order of one's natural surroundings. Kechun Zhang works feature people as small parts of these wide frames, qualifying their existence by bringing an emotional element to the structures they inhabit. Sabine Mirlesse displays the forms of the human body in intimate situations, integrating their playfulness with the nature of the scene.

Each piece is a striking reminder to explore the relationship we have with the multitudes of nature and how it encourages us on our constant journey to leave a mark, promote our presence and be a living force in the world.

Sabine Mirlesse and Yichen Zhou will be at Gallery HO on May 29 for a talk about the show, which runs through June 21.

 

Text by Amanda Everich.

Photographs by Chad Smith.

Sabine Mirlesse, is an American New York and Paris based editorial photographer. Mirlesse grew up along both the western and eastern coasts of America. Having completed her Masters in Fine Arts in 2010 from the Parson's School of Photography in New York City, she became subjects of features in magazines and journals such as The New YorkerThe British Journal of Photography and Time’s Magazine Lightbox to name a few. In her series As if it should have been a quarry, Mirlesse explores the Icelandic island of Heimaey after its 1973 volcanic eruption. Again we witness the notion of human subjects captured against beautiful landscapes and backgrounds in an attempt to define an environment and its attributes by implementing a system of both man and nature.

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Pictured here is the talented and innovative visual artist and photographer Yichen Zhou. Zhou was born in Inner Mongolia and raised in Beijing, China. She has earned her Master’s in Fine Arts from the Parson's School of Photography after moving to New York City in 2010. Through her work she bares a sense of identity in which she is able to express the many cultures and values around the world identifying with their different forms of conflict amongst each other. In her series Untitled, Zhou’s work illustrates the immensity of nature and places human subjects against multiple backgrounds and environments showcasing the both physical and mental complexity of such a concept.

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Sze Tsung Leong: "Horizons" at Yossi Milo Gallery

Interview with Kyle DeWoody: A Grey Area