Ray Art Center is pleased to announce the opening of an exhibition by British photographer Liz Hingley.Based on an ongoing research project led by the artist and Prof. Benoit Vermander at Fudan University,Shanghai Sacred will present 34 photographs as part of their in-depth research. This exhibition opensto the public on Sunday August 30 and will be on view through October 18, 2015.
Statue, the Longhua Revolutionary Martyr’s Cemetery
Shanghai is a metropolis that sees itself as the birthplace of “New China”, a hub of cultural andreligious diversity. This multilayered identity is enshrined in a patchwork of “sacred spaces”scattered throughout the city. The series of images intimately documents how sacrednesscontinues to be engineered in today’s Shanghai, through the exploration of fourdimensions: “landmarks”, “compounds”, “privacy”, and “waterways.” Through this exploration,the artist discovers that churches, temples and mosques are complemented by homes andworkspaces as well as by piers and virtual networks. In a vibrant global city, locating“sacredness” means to understand it as process of ceaseless dislocation and relocation.
Kunal Kshirsagar at Diwali
About the ArtistLiz
Hingley is a British photographer and anthropologist. She holds a first class BA Honoursin Photography, and an MSc in Social Anthropology with distinction from UniversityCollege London.During a two-year scholarship with FABRICA, in Italy, she made the work‘Under Gods, stories from Soho Road’, which was published by Dewi Lewis in 2011 andbecame an internationally touring solo exhibition. Her work has received numerous awardsincluding the 2013 Photo Philanthropy award, 2012 Prix Virginia and 2011 Getty EditorialGrant. In 2013 her work ‘End Of Lines’ was published as the book ‘Shanghai’, for the PortraitsDe Villes series designed by Be-Poles.Liz is an Honorary Research Fellow of The University of Birmingham Philosophy and Theologydepartment and an active member of The Migration Research Unit, University College London.In 2013 she moved to China as a Visiting Scholar of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Daoist Monks, Baiyun Temple
About the Collaborator
Benoit Vermanderis professor of religious studies in the School of Philosophy, FudanUniversity, where he is also the academic director of the Xu-Ricci Dialogue Research Center. Hespecializes in religious anthropology and comparative spiritualities. He has authored severalbooks and academic articles dealing with Chinese religious traditions, China’s role in aglobalized world, and the relationship between cultural diversity and sustainabledevelopment. He has also widely exhibited and published his painting and calligraphy works.
About Ray Art Center
Established in 2008, Ray Art Center (RAC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to photo-based art. The Center has a threefold mission: support for research into the history and theoryof Chinese photography; sponsorship of contemporary photography practice; and increasedpublic awareness of photography and contemporary visual culture in general. Photographicresearch takes place at the Ray-Space, which presents contemporary work by Chinese andinternational artists, and research projects undertaken by RAC and other scholars or artists;Ray-Sight, an online platform devoted to collecting and sharing of writings on history andtheories of photography, and Ray-Publication. The event-oriented section Ray-Chat and Ray-Pub consists of a series talks, panels, dialogues, workshops and screenings. These eventspromote learning between photography and other disciplines, and communication betweenartists, scholars, curators, and students, by which, the center hopes to explore visual cultureand spark new ideas.
About Xu-Ricci Dialogue
InstituteThe Xu-Ricci Dialogue Institute at Fudan University was founded in May, 2010. Its name andmission refer to the friendship that developed between Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci: fourhundred years ago, Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci fostered a cross-interpretation of differentcanonical traditions, namely the Confucian and Christian ones; today, the institute inscribesitself within the tradition of trans-disciplinary research. It dedicates to integrate the substanceand methodology of the “Dialogue” into religious and philosophical studies, to foster effectiveinteractions and communication among cultures, religions and even civilizations. Theinstitutefocuses on “religious dialogue” as an academic topic to promote the disciplinarydevelopment of comparative religion, anthropology of religion, sociology of religion, as well asculture and civilization communication.
