展期 Period：
2023.10.22—2023.12.22
艺术家 Artist：
策展人 Curator：
地点 Venue：
新闻稿 Press Release：
「南方街区」从个人内部视角出发，以艺术家南方对于潮流文化的钻研探索，及中国传统文化在当代艺术中的应用为核心，延伸至更为广阔的外部世界。
街头文化的本质源自不同街区与其社群的独特文化表达方式，它的形成与城市空间及权力结构紧密相连。在20世纪70年代，美国底层人群通过说唱与街舞进行更为个性化的自我表达，强调对于传统主流文化及权威的批判态度。随着时代与社会的变革，原本仅限于某些特定场域的街头文化，在不断演变、重塑中迅速传播至大众视野，并在互联网及社交媒体的推动下，逐渐形成了当下的潮流文化。
南方生长于70年代末期，他见证、参与并在某种程度上呈现了中国潮流艺术的编年史。南方的作品刻画了70年代末不同文化涌入国人视野后产生的融合与交汇。他的创作基底是中国传统水墨，但对于街头文化的研究与热爱深深刻入他的生活，并构建成独有的创作语言、汇聚成精神植根于作品当中。
作为潮流文化的研究学者，南方在艺术的表达上抱持着纯真与敏锐的态度，在塑造符号形象的同时，也谨慎避免自己的创作被符号消费所主导。在创作主题的选择上，南方从周遭生活介入，在跳脱常规框架的笔触下，给观者呈现出真诚而不仅流于表面的文化内核。例如在作品《我来了！你来了！龙来了！》中，南方将一个滑板技巧动作分解成三个人物形象，与之形成对比的，是具有传统代表的龙的形象，并如同连环画叙事一般呈现在一件作品当中。在材料的选择上，他将具有街头文化代表性的滑板以及其它实用物件与创作结合，将现成品艺术（Ready-made）的理念融入其中，从实际应用入手，从而对中国当代艺术进行基因重组。
有别于潮流艺术中被大家所熟知的绘画形式，南方的创作结合了涂鸦、传统水墨及抽象绘画的技法。大胆鲜明的用色却不乏水墨中婉转的晕染，让如同调色板的一般的画面充满流动的张力；涂鸦元素与抽象的线条相结合，在丰富画面的同时体现了独属于南方的视觉想象。同时，南方在作品视觉上的呈现也进一步体现了其对于街头文化、潮流文化的理解：自由表达、挑战传统价值观。
「南方街区」意在通过展览的形式体现南方对于潮流文化的研究与态度，构建一个开放的文化空间。在南方街区里，四个区域具有承上启下的意味，从个人表达，到对西方文化的研究，再到将东方文化的融合，最终深入艺术家的创作核心。观者可以切实的感受到潮流文化的流动与演变，与跨文化开放性的交流。
From an internal perspective, Southern Blocks focuses on the artist's exploration of trend culture and the application of traditional Chinese culture in contemporary art, and extends to the wider external world.
The essence of street culture originates from the unique cultural expressions of different neighbourhoods and their communities, and its formation is closely linked to urban space and power structures. In the 1970s, the underclass in the United States engaged in more personalized self-expression through rap and street dance, emphasising a critical attitude towards traditional mainstream culture and authority. As time and society changed, street culture, which was originally limited to specific fields, rapidly spread to the public through constant evolution and reinvention, and has gradually become a current trend through the use of the Internet and social media.
In the late 70's, Nan Fang witnessed, participated in, and in a way presented a chronicle of Chinese trendy art. Nan Fang's works depict the fusion and convergence of different files that came into the country in the late 70s. The basis of his work is traditional Chinese ink painting, but his research and love for street culture are deeply rooted in his life, and also constructs a unique creative language that gathers spirit in his works.
As a researcher of trendy culture, Nan Fang holds an pure and sensitive attitude towards artistic expression, shaping symbolic images while carefully avoiding his own creations being dominated by symbolic consumption. In terms of choosing the creative theme, Nan Fang draws from his life around him, and with a brushstroke that goes beyond the conventional framework, he presents the viewer with a sincere, not just superficial, core of the artist's philosophy. For example, in the work I'm Coming! You are here! You're Here! , Nan Fang breaks down a skateboarding trick into three figures, contrasting them with the traditional figure of the dragon, which is presented in a work like a traditional chinses comic strip narrative. In his choice of materials, he combines skateboards and other practical objects representative of street art with his work, incorporating the concept of ready-made art, and genetically restructuring Chinese contemporary art from the point of view of its practical application.
Unlike the familiar forms of painting in trendy art, Nan Fang's creations combine graffiti, traditional ink and abstract painting techniques. Bold and bright color, but no lacking the graceful halo dyeing in ink, make the picture like a palette full of flowing tension; The combination of graffiti elements and abstract lines enriches the picture while reflecting the unique visual imagination of Nan Fang. At the same time, the Nan Fang's visual presentation of the work also further reflects its understanding of street culture and trend culture: free expression, challenging traditional values.
Southern Blocks is intended to reflect the Nan Fang's research and attitude towards the trend culture through the form of exhibition, and build an open cultural space. In the Southern Blocks, the four areas have the meaning of connecting the past and the next, from personal expression, to the research of Western culture, to the integration of Eastern culture, and finally to the core of the artist's creation. The audience can actually feel the flow and evolution of the trend culture, and the open communication with the cross-culture.
