事情一旦发生就会变成钉子 Things would turn nails once they happened

事情一旦发生就会变成钉子
Things would turn nails once they happened
Medium: C-Print
Date: 2007

 

In March of 2007, a dilapidated red brick duplex suddenly became well known. It was located in Yangjiaping, Chongqing 

The duplex was more than 20 meters high with base – standing isolated in a lone pillar in a 10,000 square meters wide and 17 meters deep pit. Supply of water, electricity and gas had been cut-off by the real estate company, and there was not path to access the building at all.  Its isolation makes it appear like a monument.

The plight of the duplex garnered attention and support from international media and the local community, in part strengthened the impact of the strong visual nature of the image as it was circulated upon the website.

 People called it the most stubborn nail house in history. Meanwhile, it was considered as a representative case of the Property Rights Law in China, providing a case study of memory operating between the historical context of the past and the future.

 In the end of March 2007, just a few days before the “the most stubborn nail house” finally being dismantled, Artist Jiang Zhi created a theatrical and magical scene.  Setting up an intense spotlight from the top of a high-rise building nearby at night, the light was projected on the duplex in the darkness – accentuating the prominence of the building just as the main character of a play being lit up by the theatre spotlight.    

Jiang Zhi’s photograph Things would turn nails once they happened is one part of his Light series, which goes beyond photo-documentation, but rather is a recording of a conceptual performance by the artist.  The nail house symbolized the insistence of the people for property rights, glorified by the artificial spotlight. 

2007年3月，重庆杨家坪一座小小的2层红砖残楼，突然间世人皆知。 

在超过1万平米、深17米的大坑中，这个连底座带楼身有二十多米米高的残楼，被开发商断水、断电、断路、断气。它孤零零地矗立的样子，具有纪念碑的形式感。 

由于这样的场景极富视觉冲击力，它的照片一在互联网上出现，马上就引起巨大的轰动，得到非常广泛的民间支持和国际媒体关注，被网民称为中国“史上最牛的钉子户”。 另一方面，它之所以被世人关注，因为在长久和未来的历史语境中，它都是一个足以铭记的标本，中国物权法史上一个经典案例。这个顽强的“钉子户”，就这样把自己牢牢钉进中国城市化运动的历史。 

2007年3月底，在这座称为“史上最牛的钉子户”被拆除前的最后几天，蒋志在其旁边的一幢楼房里，架上了一支大功率的追光灯，让一束强光刺破夜幕，直射到位于巨大深坑中的孤楼上，使它如同一位怪诞的主角站立在极富魔幻色彩的舞台中央，被一束光凸显出来。 

蒋志这件《事情一旦发生就会变成钉子》，是他近年来“光”系列摄影作品的一个组成部分，但又并非传统意义上的纪实摄影。他远赴重庆架设灯光，把一束隐喻性很强的光束投射到一个被民众视为个人捍卫公民权利的标志性建筑物体上……