Through my artistic research, I delve into the intricate relationship between content and narrative within the realm of cinematic language, employing the techniques of collage and montage. My exploration focuses on the effective utilization of voice-over or text to establish this connection. Initially, my creative investigation centered around the profound interplay among invasive species, colonial history, and human identity. By critically analyzing the contrasting qualities and shared characteristics of the exotic and the invasive, I sought to employ cinematic techniques to chart their complexities. In my perspective, history possesses an unpredictable nature, akin to the erratic movements found in stop-motion animation or collage. Even the slightest error or stroke of fortune can profoundly reshape its trajectory.
In the master’s program, I explore the potency of reappropriating archival materials (footage and image) with narratives to establish and question my position as a visual artist and filmmaker. I consider found archival materials as collective memories, while my own materials are personal memories. I collage the two as a method of thinking and storytelling: memories are often fragmented and incomplete, and collage is a means to speculate on how personal and collective memories could be interconnected. My research interests include 'exoticism', invasive species, Covid-19, and the absurdity of human exceptionalism.
I discovered the power of reappropriating archival footage and connecting it to my practice as a visual artist. This realization came during the workshop Editing through Writing, where I recognized the potential of using collage techniques in editing. To explore the theme of exotic and invasive, I created a three-minute film titled I Dream That I Became a Lizard, which was based on a dream I had. The film depicted me as a chameleon on an ancient Chinese boat, surrounded by darkness and the sounds of the ocean and machinery. The piece was composed and collaged mostly by archive material: the footage of the chameleon was from a Dutch educational nature film (1915); the footage of the boat was from Dutch TV about an exhibition of sailing boat model from the far-east (1947); the old map of China was from Het Gezantschap, which was a book published after the first VOC convey in China (1655). with my own materials: the footage of the ocean, the whirlpool water, the cutout hand from a magazine, and my voiceover from the writing. I aimed to create a dream-like atmosphere and convey the complexities of my personal experiences as an immigrant. This exercise deepened my understanding of the relationship between reappropriation, collage, and filmmaking, encouraging me to embrace an experimental approach.
Collage became a methodology allowing me to play a crucial role in the formation and content of dreams. Since dreams frequently incorporate fragmented elements between my personal memories, experiences, and emotions. Collective memories can also influence dreams through cultural symbols and historical events. Dreams provide a unique space for the exploration and processing of personal and collective memories, reflecting the individual's connection to broader social and historical contexts.
I further delved into this piece, experimenting with different forms of collage in both audio and visual aspects. I navigated between my consciousness as a chameleon and myself, exploring different time periods, and the result was The Intertwined Dream. The dream narrative followed the journey of a chameleon and a giraffe traveling from Africa to China in a pre-discovery era, exploring the connections between history, maps, natural resources, and rituals. Intertwined with my childhood memories and reflections on contemporary inter-continental power dynamics, this project draws inspiration from my experiences living and working between Shanghai and Amsterdam. The complex relationship between China and Africa becomes an urgent issue to address, as not much work has explored this topic from a Chinese perspective. I am fascinated by how historical events, such as the Age of Discovery and colonial conquest, shaped our present-day reality, including the flow of transnational capital, knowledge, species, and commodities. The book Het Gezantschap, for instance, exoticized and fabricated images of China to cater to Dutch audiences' tastes, influencing the phenomenon of Chinoiserie. The ongoing debate around neocolonialism in Africa raises important questions about the future implications of these dynamics. Subsequent explorations and iterations of this piece were screened at the EMAF festival in the second semester, followed by screenings at CinemAsia in the third and fourth semesters.
Hangfeng Chen explores the potency of reappropriating archival materials (footage and image) with narratives to establish and question his position as a visual artist and filmmaker. He considers found archival materials as collective memories, while his own materials are personal memories. He collages the two as a method of thinking and storytelling: memories are often fragmented and incomplete, and collage is a means to speculate on how personal and collective memories could be interconnected. His research interests include 'exoticism', invasive species, Covid-19 and the absurdity of human exceptionalism. His work draws on archival materials from the pre-discovery Chinese voyages in the 15th century and the Dutch Golden Age to the found images of Neo-colonialism in Africa.
The research into the concept of 'exoticism' served as a catalyst for the ongoing project The Intertwined Dream. Herein, the filmmaker constructs a dream narrative that allows his consciousness to rove between the body of a chameleon and his own self. Navigating both childhood memories and recent experiences, the work moves from oceanic voyages to the Pre-discovery Map of Africa. Eventually, both the filmmaker and the viewer find themselves immersed in a trance-like state, amidst a collage of glitches interwoven with previously-encountered imagery. Using multilayered montage, animation, and aural storytelling, the project explores the interconnectedness among diverse historical temporalities.
Hangfeng Chen, originally from Shanghai, was born right after the cultural revolution, and grew up within an economically booming and fast changing society in China. He’s educated as a painter at the Shanghai Fine Art College, a self-taught graphic designer, and a filmmaker. Reappropriation has always been a method in his work, which made him move between fine arts and cinema, particularly in the field of papercut, collage, and animation. Since 2017 he has been living and working between Shanghai and Amsterdam. His works have been shown and collected by various galleries and museums across the continents,including Rockbund Museum in Shanghai, SinArts gallery, Lissa ArtMuseum, Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, and the White Rabbit Museum in Sydney. His films have been shown at CinemAsia in Amsterdam; MADATAC Festival in Madrid; N-Minutes Video Art Festival in Helsinki, and The 57th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (by MIACA program). His research during the master of film program is about how to treat moving image and sound as Collage, or Collage as a way of thinking and storytelling. He reappropriates and juxtaposes found footage with his own materials, in order to & question the nuisances of human desire and control in a globalized environment.
