- 2852
Qiu Mai (Michael Cherney)
Estimate
50,000 - 80,000 HKD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Qiu Mai (Michael Cherney)
- Map of Mountains and Seas Series No.4
- photographic print on mitsumata paper, framed
executed in 2012
edition 2/9
inscribed 33o17'17"N, 100 o 51'43"E, 95 o in pencil and marked with two seals of the artist on the image mounting
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued and signed by the artist.
edition 2/9
inscribed 33o17'17"N, 100 o 51'43"E, 95 o in pencil and marked with two seals of the artist on the image mounting
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued and signed by the artist.
Exhibited
Stone and Mist, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, 2014-2015 (alternate edition exhibited).
Condition
Overall in good condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Qiu Mai's dramatic black and white images evoke a sense of obscurity and wonder at the natural world similar to classical Chinese paintings. In his extensive journeys around China he follows the footsteps of earlier visitors, paying homage to famous sites and connecting with the country's historic and cultural legacies. Each photograph is carefully researched and composed, with few journeys resulting in a satisfactory image. Taken on 35mm film, the images are dramatically enlarged, printed on xuan paper, and mounted as hanging scrolls or album formats common to traditional Chinese paintings.
The enlarged and grainy images in the Map of Mountain and Seas series are intended to emulate the wet ink dots in the paintings by Mi Fu (1051-1107 AD), as well as his son, Mi Youren (1074-1151 AD). The Song dynasty painter, poet and calligrapher Mi Fu was an eccentric who was known for his misty and romantic landscapes. He created an impressionistic style of painting, with suggestive forms and unfocused renderings, rather than realistic depictions. This atmospheric sensibility associated with the Southern landscape mode of painting is evident in Qiu Mai's enlarged photographic images, which utilize the grainy, pixelated effect of film to echo the mist-and-rain ink paintings of Chinese painting forefathers.
However, it is Qiu Mai's selection of imagery that makes his work most compelling. As with almost all of his works—which build from Chinese art history as a reference point—the Map of Mountain and Seas series reflects a Han dynasty mythological geography using present day images along the Yangtze River. The 'Shan Hai Jing' (Classic of Mountains and Seas) is one of the oldest surviving literary works in China, dating back to the Warring States period (4th century BC). Owing to the obscure and fictitious nature of its content, many have dismissed it as unworthy of any serious consideration and regard it as a mere collection of mythologies. However, some consider the text as an early example of geographical research. Qiu Mai draws a fitting parallel between the ancient text and his documentation of the Yangtze River, as both are works of aesthetics rather than of precision. The Shan Hai Jing and Qiu Mai's Map of Mountains and Seas No. 4 critically reconsider the guise of reality, where the former challenges the division between fiction and non-fiction and the latter questions the view of reality captured on film and represented as a visual image. In this series, each work is annotated with the precise latitude and longitude where the image was created, which is the only real geographical reference point that the image offers.
The enlarged and grainy images in the Map of Mountain and Seas series are intended to emulate the wet ink dots in the paintings by Mi Fu (1051-1107 AD), as well as his son, Mi Youren (1074-1151 AD). The Song dynasty painter, poet and calligrapher Mi Fu was an eccentric who was known for his misty and romantic landscapes. He created an impressionistic style of painting, with suggestive forms and unfocused renderings, rather than realistic depictions. This atmospheric sensibility associated with the Southern landscape mode of painting is evident in Qiu Mai's enlarged photographic images, which utilize the grainy, pixelated effect of film to echo the mist-and-rain ink paintings of Chinese painting forefathers.
However, it is Qiu Mai's selection of imagery that makes his work most compelling. As with almost all of his works—which build from Chinese art history as a reference point—the Map of Mountain and Seas series reflects a Han dynasty mythological geography using present day images along the Yangtze River. The 'Shan Hai Jing' (Classic of Mountains and Seas) is one of the oldest surviving literary works in China, dating back to the Warring States period (4th century BC). Owing to the obscure and fictitious nature of its content, many have dismissed it as unworthy of any serious consideration and regard it as a mere collection of mythologies. However, some consider the text as an early example of geographical research. Qiu Mai draws a fitting parallel between the ancient text and his documentation of the Yangtze River, as both are works of aesthetics rather than of precision. The Shan Hai Jing and Qiu Mai's Map of Mountains and Seas No. 4 critically reconsider the guise of reality, where the former challenges the division between fiction and non-fiction and the latter questions the view of reality captured on film and represented as a visual image. In this series, each work is annotated with the precise latitude and longitude where the image was created, which is the only real geographical reference point that the image offers.