The Third Compass
June 2 - July 8, 2023
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“Several times a year, I go back to my hometown to see, feel, and taste it again. I call it a blood connection; it is my home. Every time I go, I see new things with new eyes—the land and skies, streams and weather, are always the same and always different, full of a mystery that leads me to new and uncharted worlds.” — Xie Hongdong
ENGAGE Projects is excited to announce our upcoming solo exhibition The Third Compass by photographer Xie Hongdong. Based in Beijing, Hongdong draws on his upbringing in Gansu Province of northwest China, a diverse landscape of grassland, desert, mountain range, and river, to make his photographs that abstract elements of the natural world. Both obscure and familiar in their physicality, Hongdong’s works touch on the subconscious with their intuitive link between the external environment and internal psyche. The artist adheres to a strict principle of no post-photo manipulation to preserve the translation from life to frame, perfecting this self-taught approach to photography since 2012.
Reinvigorating imagery of the everyday, Hongdong’s luminous photographs of micro landscapes have a strong undercurrent that speaks of global anthropogenic issues. He says, “I am interested in the minute things in nature that tell us about the changes in the larger world.” While climate change often happens on a scale incomprehensible to humans, Hongdong chooses to zero in on one subject at a time, dissociating matter such as plants, water, ice, smoke, and spider webs from their natural environments and inspiring a personal connection between larger environmental issues and the individual.
Reinvigorating imagery of the everyday, Hongdong’s luminous photographs of micro landscapes have a strong undercurrent that speaks of global anthropogenic issues. He says, “I am interested in the minute things in nature that tell us about the changes in the larger world.” While climate change often happens on a scale incomprehensible to humans, Hongdong chooses to zero in on one subject at a time, dissociating matter such as plants, water, ice, smoke, and spider webs from their natural environments and inspiring a personal connection between larger environmental issues and the individual.
Chasing 01, 2020
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
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Third Compass 08, 2023
archival pigment print
52 3/8 x 78 3/4 in 133 x 200 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
archival pigment print
52 3/8 x 78 3/4 in 133 x 200 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
The Flaming 03, 2022
archival pigment print
47 1/4 x 31 1/2 in 120 x 80 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
archival pigment print
47 1/4 x 31 1/2 in 120 x 80 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
Offshore 02, 2023
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
Whisper 11, 2021
archival pigment print
35 3/8 x 47 1/4 in 90 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
archival pigment print
35 3/8 x 47 1/4 in 90 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
Silent Night 04, 2021
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
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Dhana 05, 2021
archival pigment print 47 1/4 x 31 1/2 in 120 x 80 cm edition of 3 + 2 AP |
Silent Night 03, 2021
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
edition of 3 + 2 AP
Whisper 20, 2021
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
Edition of 3 + 2 AP
archival pigment print
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 in 80 x 120 cm
Edition of 3 + 2 AP
