(b.1983, Singapore) is a multidisciplinary Singaporean artist. As an artist and almost zoologist, his practice investigates the different modes of the human zoological gaze, that is, how people view animals. Most recently, the artist presented a major project with The Substation, Singapore, If a Tree Falls in the Forest, in 2009 with the support of The National Arts Council Singapore. He was also selected to present his research work on animal memorabilia/souvenirs of the world in the recent Asia-Europe Foundation Emerging Artists Forum. He is currently selected for the inaugural Singapore National Arts Council, Arts Creation Fund, The Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Artist’s Residency Program in Japan.

Curator’s note:

The works of Zhao Renhui represent many of the aims for CUT2010: PARALLEL UNIVERSE. Functioning within the notion of the uncanny, of what is real and unfamiliar his work explores how humans view and control the natural environment and the creatures that inhabit this world. Working closely with the Institute of Critical Zoologists (ICZ), a multidisciplinary organisation based in Japan, he creatively documents the research methods and projects generated by the organisation. The ICZ, which is made up of zoologists, conservationists, artists and researchers, aims to develop a critical approach to the ‘zoological gaze’ within Asia. This objective arose due to man’s alienation from the environment as a result of increasing dislocation between urban culture and nature. Concerned by the exploitation of animals as objects to be desired for pleasure and controlled as a resource for commodity and spectacle, it seeks new and more mutually beneficial approaches to understanding the relationship between humans and animals.

Manipulating scientific language and archiving as well as traditional approaches to wildlife photography Zhao Renhui’s scenes in CUT are taken from an expedition to a newly discovered place called Pulau Pejantan. Extracts from a visual log made up of over 20 images, documents ecological research such as sand sampling and glimpses of new species found on the island such as the Minute Owl and the Iriamondi Cat. As viewers, we are attracted to this sense of discovery of new and unexplored places. This love of adventure, serves to emphasise the artist’s and ICZ’s observation of human voyeurism and the desire to control through the process of scientific naming and classification of the natural world.

The images, selected from an implied narrative of the expedition, are haunting tableaus rather than straight forward records. They are aids in the ICZ’s goals for a new understanding between humans and animals. And yet, there is something slightly off balance. Certain details seem visually inconclusive. Are we to believe what we see or should we challenge the authority of science and the photographic image? What is reality and what is simply part of an elaborate construct?