DMY Design Spots 2015: Migrant Birds present Modern Fossils by Song Tao

In context of DMY 2015 the Berlin/Beijing based cultural exchange association Migrant Birds are presenting the exhibition Modern Fossils, a solo exhibition of works by the Beijing based artist and designer Song Tao.

Migrant Birds present Modern Fossils by Song Tao

Born in Shanghai in 1969 Song Tao initially graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1986 before moving to France to complete a Masters degree in Plastic Arts at the Université Paris 1.

Although Song Tao’s work has been the subject of regular solo exhibitions in China, he has only rarely been shown in Europe; Modern Fossils is his first exhibition in Germany and follows on from a more expanded exhibition of his works at the Centre Culturel de Chine á Paris.

Trained as an artist and still very much active as an artist in the classic sense, Song Tao has been active as a designer for twenty years and, and by his own admission, sees little difference in the motivations and process of the two genres, other than with design the end objects has, or at least is intended to have, a functional quality not required in the art works.

We’re not going to claim to be experts of Song Tao’s complete canon, but those works we have seen tend to combine concepts, materials and approaches, and for all mix traditional Chinese objects with modern materials and/or more contemporary understandings of aesthetics and functionality and which thus create objects that are as much bridges between differing times or cultures as they are functional products.

So to the Modern Fossils collection.

Featuring a combination of antique elm set in an amber-esque resin and supported by stalks of brass bamboo, the pieces reflect the important role elm, amber, and for all bamboo have played and continue to play in Chinese culture and society.

At times bordering on the unnecessarily decadent, at times appearing the very epitome of reserved majesty and grace, the works are not instantly accessible, we, for example, were greatly reminded of the Tools for Life collection by OMA for Knoll, a family of objects which it genuinely took us a couple of days to get used too. And a family which contains a couple of members with whom we still have no friendly relationship.

Not so with Modern Fossils, while initially unfamiliar, a little off-putting, the “getting to know” phase is relatively short, you very quickly learn to follow the logic and thinking behind the pieces and become accustomed to material and form language. And while yes, as we say, at times the pieces can appear unnecessarily decadent…. they’re supposed to. As benches, tables and the like, they are unquestionably functional objects and nobody could criticise you for using them as such; but they are equally unquestionably conceptual gallery pieces, created to make a statement and to be enjoyed and valued for what they are as much as what they can do. The contradiction between the visual impression and the material, between the opulence and the inherent simplicity, between the history and the perpetuity is part of the collections charm, the feeling of alienation from something so familiar is just delightful. As is the way character of the objects changes as light refracts and dances through the bonbon amber; fossils they may be, but they ain’t dead.

Summus Aqua by Song Tao, as seen at Modern Fossils, Berlin

As a collection title Modern Fossils is certainly appropriate for there is an undeniable sense of something being preserved in the works, of holding time and saying this where we are, this is what we are. A permanent, unchanging reminder of cultural norms which will remain long after all natural matter has decayed and vanished. Yet just as palaeontological fossils give us clues as to the world gone and for all why it went, so to can Song Tao’s Modern Fossils help us shape a more sustainable future. Bamboo as simple legs for a table featuring a table top salvaged from a piece of furniture or a building to which one attaches personal importance. There are more complicated and resource intensive ways to make furniture. And luxury isn’t always amber, antique elm and brass. Sometimes it is just a table or bench.

In addition to being Song Tao’s first Germany exhibition Modern Fossils is also the first of a series of exhibitions of contemporary Chinese design being organised by Migrant Birds in Berlin; a series with which Migrant Birds hope to both continue the Sino-Germanic cultural dialogue while at the same time giving a platform to the increasing number of contemporary author designers working in China.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated.

And for all in or near Berlin, Modern Fossils by Song Tao can be viewed at Zhong Gallery, Koppenplatz 5, 10115 Berlin until Saturday July 11th

Full details can be found at http://migrantbirds.org/