Birdhead Birdhead（鳥頭）

Established in 2004, Birdhead—an artist duo made up Song Tao (b. 1979) and Ji Weiyu (b. 1980)—quickly gained renown for chronicling the urban transformation of their hometown, Shanghai, at a time when China's economy and society were opening to the world. In the two decades they have spent working together, Birdhead have continued to push the technical and narrative limits of photography to rhapsodise, celebrate and critique their surroundings.

This survey is in two parts. Birdhead’s first exhibition in Kyoto, plays on the distinct character of the two spaces which make up the Kondaya Genbei, the 280-year-old manufacturer of obi sashes where the display will be shown. The Chikuin-no-Ma foyer of the main atelier, which was built between the Meiji and Taisho-era, will show Birdhead’s more traditional works, including what they termed as a new “matrix” of 124 photographs made during their recent travels in Kyoto and Tokyo. There are also six recent works from their Bigger Photo series, in which carefully assembled photographic images are silkscreened directly onto wood and fixed using a special lacquer technique.

In the hybrid modern architecture of the Kurogura, Birdhead presents their irreverent idea of “Phototheism,” an imaginary religion devoted to the mystical power of photography. This denomination, and its credo, termed We Will Shoot You, underpins the collaged images, installations and video that are presented in the exhibition. Taken together, these works offer a comprehensive introduction to an artist duo who have made a unique contribution to photography and to contemporary art in China and globally.