Amelia Johnson Contemporary is pleased to introduce the multimedia works of GUARIGLIA + CHEN using an unprecedented subject matter, images of the Shaolin monks.
Over the course of eight years, American photographer Justin Guariglia gained unprecedented access to China’s world famous fifteen-hundred-year-old Shaolin Temple and its inhabitants, the legendary “warrior monks,” who dedicate their lives to practicing a form of kung fu referred to as the “vehicle of Zen.” Driven by his passion for Chinese culture and Shaolin, Guariglia earned the full trust and collaboration of the monks to create a stunning photographic documentation of this revered, centuries-old art form.
The first photographer to be granted permission to document the private world of Shaolin from inside the temple walls, Guariglia’s photography captures unplanned moments of everyday life. These are in contrast to the serene portraits of the monks in black and white and colour that reveal the monks’ unique expertise in the martial arts. Using these images as the basis of their work GUARIGLIA + CHEN create composite abstract images that explore the themes of universal energy, ritual, spirituality, and Eastern philosophies in both video and still photography. Their large format images that appear abstract from a distance are revealed, on closer inspection, to be compiled of tiny figures dancing through the movements of Kung Fu.
Collectively, Shaolin: Temple of Zen is an astonishing, empathic record of Shaolin and the individuals who consider themselves the keepers of the tradition. The hauntingly beautiful works of GUARIGLIA + CHEN capture the changing context of this ancient sect as it encounters the increasingly hyper-modern world of contemporary China.
Justin Guariglia is current Contributing Editor to National Geographic Traveler Magazine, and a regular contributor to Smithsonian magazine. He was nominated for the International Center of Photography’s Young Photographer Infinity Award, received an Eddie Adams Workshop award, and was named by Photo District News as one of the top “30 Young Photographers under 30.” In 2003, Guariglia met Zoe Chen, then a designer working for Issey Miyake in Tokyo, Japan. Chen's designs were mostly inspired by intricate geometries and complex knit patterns. Upon meeting, the two began collaborating on projects together. Their first major project, Shaolin: Temple of Zen is being presented as a book and large internationally touring exhibition by the Aperture Foundation in New York. It is also the subject of a two-year Nokia print and television advertising campaign.
