Artist Statement

ToNgbO Dong(b.1997, Cangzhou, based in Nanjing, China)  is a contemporary photographer and performance artist whose artistic practice multiple forms of expression. The research direction of his work delves into anthropology and sociology, discussing in depth the relationships between people in society and exploring the impact of politics on human development. He used this time to consider all the variables and elements of his practice from a sociological or anthropological perspective. His camera acts as a mirror, showing how the democratic nature of photography can be used to visualise social issues, provoke dialogue and shift assumptions. 



ToNgbO's work is full of symbolism and is meant to be read and evaluated. If visual elements suggest one thing but represent another, what constitutes a complex story? His images not only transcend the boundaries of photography, but also mimic painting and different types of art by experimenting with digital techniques such as 3D scanning, collage and 3D printing. Laser cutting is also used to engrave on various materials to enrich his artworks beyond photography. His approach is more akin to another language as the work provides a realistic measure and explanation of the complexity of social life. 

Skills & Experience
  • ‘Natural Soul’ was exhibited at the Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh Nov.2021
  • ‘Drop The Trouble’ was exhibited at the Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh Apr.2022
  • ‘Can You Read My Color’ was exhibited at the White Space Gallery, Edinburgh May.2022
Project Concept

In Whisper of Declaration, I hope to use allegory as a means of revealing, to create a narrative space that allows the audience to get close to the eroded language. This erosion occurs in alienated realities of life and media news, and I want to focus on the tragedies of the times, political taboos, and the evolution of social networks.

 

I choose the convictive slogans and policies that are common in socialist society, and critically combine these texts without semantics to become a new form of text. This mutation often occurs at the political level, and there are many new concepts (word combinations) in the policies issued according to the epidemic, which did not exist in the previous Chinese. I hope to reflect the collective experience of socialism under the epidemic by creating a series of interconnected images and site-specific performances. The installation uses images and language as the materials, trying to explain the mechanism of alienation.

 

reference resources:

Translation of COVID-19 Policies and Terms 

http://www.catticenter.com/tgmj/2057

 

China's Public Health Policies in Response to COVID-19: From an “Authoritarian” Perspective

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.756677/full



 

88888 expand
Other Works

It's probably my seventh year of being formally in photography.

 

I remember when I was very young, I took a simple automatic film camera from home to the Cangzhou People's Park to play. I didn't know how to use the camera at that time, so after buying a roll of film, I took 27 shots and then even went backwards to take a few more. After pressing the shutter, I found that I had  rewind several times, resulting in multiple exposures of the last few shots. The developed films are probably still at my grandmother's house, so maybe I'll look for them when I return home.

 

Then my family bought a digital camera, a silver zoom auto camera as far as I can remember. From that time onwards, I started to record when I travelled. When I was about a 5th or 6th grade primer student, I took photos and used the software Light Magic Hand to add very heavy filters and upload them to my QQ zone page. I used this digital camera until I got my own mobile phone in my first year of high school.

 

In fact, it's been quite a long time since I got to know photography, thirteen years since 2009.

 

However, the real point in time would be in the summer of 2015, my 2nd year of high school, when I met my master Zerok Mr.Kong Chao. Probably that was the first time I had a more detailed understanding of SLR cameras, knowing what aperture shutter and ISO were. For the first time I knew that there were so many different kinds of lenses, and for the first time I knew that lenses could still be taken apart ......

 

From there, I participated in the art exams for the entrance exams and came to study Film and Television Planning and Production at Nanjing University of Arts in 2016. In my freshman year, when I was involved in student union activities, my senior helped me borrow a Canon 5D3 to record the event. Since then, it has taken on the burden of contributing to the college's WeChat public website and shooting the college's events for documentation. Of course, it was also an opportunity for me. Using the school's Canon 5D2 and Nikon D810A, I have completed the vast majority of what I have created from 2016-2018. Event shooting is a real workout, requiring a quick reaction to the parameters and lighting needed for the environment the camera is in. It practiced the bad habit of going out shooting with film cameras later on without a light meter to get accurate exposures. Please don't follow my example, after all, there are still times when things go wrong. ......

 

During my studies in the MA Contemporary Art Practice programme at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, I borrowed the school's Hasselblad 501cm film camera and started using medium format film. With the help of teacher Chris in the Photography Studio at the University of Edinburgh's College of Art, I learnt and became proficient at developing and scanning various types of film. With these two cameras, I went on to photograph Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayr, Dundee, York, Port Willam, Sky Island, Gryffinan, Loch Ness and many other cities and towns. These photographs form the main part of the UK section of this album.

 

I hope you will enjoy my work.

⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://mixam.co.uk/share/62e866ce63dd344430d8256a

 

 

TONGBO's other works in China 2021.
Tongbo's other works in UK 2021.
TONGBO's other works in UK 12.2021.