倪衛華較早就進入到了上海當代藝術現場並且持續活躍於其中。從1990年代起，他的裝置加行為藝術作品《連續擴散事態——紅盒》系列（1992年）、《連續擴散事態——招貼》系列（1993年）、觀念裝置作品《界限——非展品的擱置》（1995年）和《美術：詞與物的合法化在場》（1996年）、裝置加行為藝術作品《線性城市系列》（1997－2009年，與王家浩合作）等一系列作品，都在作品面世當時就引起了廣泛注意，並且成為了他持續至今的藝術實踐的基因，那就是始終關注發生於城市空間中的、反映了當代社會變動的具有視覺性的事實，並且通過獨特的手法進一步將其視覺化，轉換成他以之表達個人觀點的視覺途徑。在這些將社會事實轉換為視覺作品的過程中，他有時更會主動吸納社會學調查的手法，使得作品更具一種研究項目性質。
人們會注意到，當他的這些作品在其實施與發表當時，其實都已經離不開攝影的在場。他意識到了攝影作為一種文獻記錄手段的可能性，並且自覺地以攝影方式記錄下了他所創造的藝術事件與他所實施的藝術行為的發生。這種攝影自覺，也同時表明了他的藝術實踐與攝影這個重要手段的逐漸深入的聯繫與結合以至最後終於轉移到以攝影為手段的創作上來。下面討論的就是進入新世紀前後，倪衛華以攝影手法展開的新的藝術實踐。
大約從上世紀末開始，他開始自覺地拿起照相機，走上城市街頭，拍攝出現於城市空間中的包含了政治與消費訴求的圖像，展開有關中國社會發展與城市議題的攝影創作。他的這部分作品主要包括了以下兩部：《關鍵詞——發展與和諧》系列（1998－2012年）以及《風景牆》（2008－2012年）系列。
中國現代政治的一個特色是政治口號所具有的公共性。即使是經濟發展為主導、消費至上為主題的去政治化的今天，它們仍然因為執政的要求而頻繁出現於城市與鄉村的公共空間中，成為了公共景觀的一部分。由於其體量巨大、又具佔位優勢而經常成為了公共景觀中的搶眼部分。它們既成為了景觀，也往往因為施放者的公共意識低下或者對於公共空間的濫用而破壞了公共空間。它們確實是無法忽視的，但人們似乎又無視其存在，在必須與它們共處的同時又以日常生活的名義使其空轉。這種作為官方意識形態的特殊存在的政治口號，它們成為了倪衛華所命名的「語言事件」。當然，既然它們的出現與存在成為了一種「事件」，那麼以攝影的手法加以記錄並且流通之，也就成為了攝影者倪衛華的當然任務了。
在《關鍵詞——發展與和諧》系列中，倪衛華的手法是密集地收集成為了他所說的「關鍵詞」的政治口號並以大尺寸的畫面展現之。這些關鍵詞，雖然人所共笴，但由於修辭等要求，往往必須寄身於一長串的標語與亮麗圖像之中。如果對於這些關鍵詞不加某種形式的突出，混跡於口號中的它們並不容易被人所關注。倪衛華通過或截取或整體框取的方式，使之變得更為突出與惹眼。而截取，那正是攝影的拿手好戲。
當權力根據其執政目標而提出其要引領社會現實發展的施政要求並且採取簡潔易懂的關鍵詞方式時，倪衛華的《關鍵詞》系列也就獲得了與這種政治口號所表達的訴求與時俱進的可能性。因為權力總是要不斷更新口號，非如此無以表達其「與時俱進」。從某種意義上說，如果現實政治與社會不停止發展與變化，他的工作就不會有停止的可能性。拍攝「關鍵詞」是一個與時代的變動與時代的目標保持同步的努力，而攝影則成就了藝術家倪衛華的這個通過攝影來「與時俱進」的願望。
而在另外一個名為《風景牆》的系列中，倪衛華的畫面，主要以出現在上海城市（或中國其他城市，特別是沿海城市）空間中的奢華的房地產廣告為背景，結合進生活工作於上海的城市生活者的底層勞動者的身影，呈現出一種反差巨大的社會階層分裂的圖景。
在以土地財政為主導的中國各地的官員眼中，土地國有下的、政府主控的房地產開發事業，成為了各地確保經濟增長，同時也確保政治合法性並且帶來仕途好運與個人財富的靈丹妙藥。在這樣的由官方一手推動的房地產熱潮中，如何精心編織廣告話語、製造需求以兜售地產成為了一幹房地產商人與廣告從業者的生意的重中之重。當然，這些廣告不脫精心編織謊言的習慣，連綿端出一盤又一盤令人眼花繚亂的虛浮廣告。這些廣告為了奪人眼球，除了在文案上爭奇鬥豔，還要在廣告的圖像表現上下功夫，以求得行人、讀者與觀眾的眼光的駐留。恰恰就是這些給出了諸多視覺承諾的房地產廣告，尤其是聳立在城市街頭的房地產廣告牌，成為了倪衛華創作《風景牆》系列的素材。
倪衛華的基本手法是把廣告牌與在廣告牌前匆匆而過的行人結合於一個畫面之中。這需要耐心自不待言。讓什麼樣的行人進入畫面並且定格之，顯然與他要借這個系列表達的觀念有關。出現在這個系列中的所有人都是經過者，他們與他們背後的那些還正在建造中的漂亮宅邸沒有關係。唯一可能有的關係是建造它們。因此，偶爾在他的這個系列的某張照片中會出現頭戴施工安全帽的工人。即使如此，他們與這些宅邸的非相關性仍然突出。他們只是建造者，但沒有可能成為其主人。而倪衛華的宗旨則是以這樣的並置來強調社會反差與階層分裂。出現在《風景牆》系列中的市民與沒有享受到市民待遇的外來務工者，一旦與這些廣告的圖景相遇，往往就被它們所淹沒，所壓倒。這種壓倒，既有不對稱的體量上的，也有廣告的勢利氣勢所造成的。這種炫耀與卑微的反差，構成了這個系列的飽滿張力，更突出了來自現實本身的不可調和的矛盾。
房地產業在改變了城市的空間布局的同時，也以其同時打包給城市空間的廣告圖像，改變了空間的景觀。在這些出現了房地產廣告的地方，圖像成為了城市空間景觀的一部分，並且以其蠻橫的存在感改變了、影響了人們對於城市、對於生活的觀感。在這種成為了武斷景觀的圖像面前，城市的生活者被壓倒，失語。房地產廣告的一個主要形式是在地產項目空間裡外布置巨大的廣告牌，先聲奪人地喧譁其要落成的項目。至於其中有多少部分最終落實，無人有精力追蹤到最後。
這些聳人聽聞的房地產廣告文案，雖然披著商業廣告的外衣，但它們其實也是另外一種形式的標語與口號，只不過從表面上看，它們所鼓吹的與權力推出的「關鍵詞」所宣揚的意識形態無關。
但是，有意思的是，《關鍵詞》所宣揚的「發展」與「和諧」，會與《風景牆》中的廣告裡所製造的「至尊」、「尊榮」等強烈的身份與階層意識有所牴觸甚至衝突。「和諧」想要掩蓋的斷裂與分化的社會事實，在房地產廣告那裡卻是毫無顧忌。它們大肆張揚與炫耀的就是只以極少數人的身份地位意識為訴求的「至尊」，因此在宣揚「至尊」的同時，就毅然而然地驅逐了《關鍵詞》裡的「和諧」。但是，就根本上來說，無論是追求所謂的「和諧」還是強調「獨享」與「尊榮」，這兩者更可能就是一枚錢幣的兩面。只有將這兩者聯繫起來看，我們才會發現今天社會的真正的秘密所在。
而倪衛華，則機智地借成為了城市公共景觀的圖像與詞語作為自己的畫面的背景或主體，並且使之成為一種呈現存在於城市的政治性存在。這種政治性存在或以虛幻的消費意識形態為幌子，傳播商業訴求，或以空洞的政治口號以收安撫人心的效果，它們萬變不離其宗的，就是它們都是一種意識形態。而這種具空間壓迫性的意識形態圖像，不正構成了今天的圖像政治的重要方面？而倪衛華的這個展覽，將這兩個方面同時呈現一堂，將今日中國人間世相的弔詭做了最為直觀的呈現。
從手法上說，倪衛華的《關鍵詞》系列與《風景牆》系列有其一致之處，那就是以抓拍的方式來獲取圖像。他的這些作品，不以傳統攝影美學所推崇的光影或構圖為追求，而是以更為直接的方式直取主題，其美學趣味截然區別於傳統攝影的美學要求。人們可能會把他的這兩個以攝影方式創作的系列視為觀念攝影。但是，如果我們願意更深入地思考一下的話，也許並不能按部就班地得出它們是觀念攝影的結論。
所謂觀念攝影，簡單來說，是指觀念先行的拍攝實踐。如果只是從這個意義上加以指認，那麼，倪衛華的這兩個系列當然都是觀念攝影。但是，觀念攝影為了達成其對於觀念表達的全面把握，往往需要通過執導拍攝的方式來控制畫面效果。因此，觀念攝影的作品攝製，往往與執導式手法聯繫在一起。從這一點來說，至少倪衛華的這批作品的手法並不如此。他悍然使用往往被觀念攝影認為不宜甚至是落伍的抓拍手法來實現其觀念的表達。
傳統街頭攝影中，照相機只要上街，其所反映的基本上是攝影家眼中的發生於街頭的人、景、事的結合。而倪衛華的《風景牆》也是人、景、事的結合，但其景不同於上面所說的實景，而是廣告圖像的背景，因此人與景的結合是一種虛幻與真實的兩相結合，這種圖像所引起的反差，往往就要遠遠大於傳統街頭攝影圖像中的真實人景所形成的圖景之間的差異。
而他這樣的拍攝於街頭並且承載其觀念的攝影作品，也給攝影中存在已久的表現樣式之一的街頭攝影帶來了定義的擴展。從某種意義上說，亨利·卡蒂－布列松、森山大道等人的作品，代表了街頭攝影作為一種表現樣式的全面成熟。它著意於街角人生與影像構圖之趣味，有記錄，也有個人主觀性，但其趣味往往非社會化。而像倪衛華這樣的來自於城市街頭的攝影，其主旨與趣味顯然與上述攝影家的追求大相逕庭。這是一種有意識地從街頭獲取素材來表達攝影者的某種社會視點的街頭觀念攝影（姑且如此命名）。與上述街頭攝影大家的實踐與具體表達內容相比較，倪衛華的手法與訴求確實不同，且在我也未見先例。這種清晰地表達了個人社會觀點的街頭觀念攝影，確實也給我們思考街頭攝影為何、觀念攝影為何帶來了新的智力刺激。
也許，我們只好以這是於遊動於觀念與紀實的邊界之間的攝影來思考他的藝術創作。至於要給出什麼確定的定性，也許並不重要，也並不急迫。由倪衛華的作品，我們可以發現，無論是政治口號還是商業廣告，其共通之處是空洞的承諾。正是願景與現實之間的反差賦予了他這兩組作品以一種內在力量。如果說《關鍵詞》是對於政治意識形態的一種攝影表達的話，那麼《風景牆》系列則是對於商業意識形態的一種攝影評價。這正是他通過自己的圖像所給出的有關圖像與圖像政治的視覺啟發。
2012年9月8日 上海
Visual Inspiration from Images and Political Images
Gu Zheng
Ni Weihua has long been an active contemprary artist in Shanghai. In the 1990s, his works attracted extensive attention at the moment they were born, such as his installation and performance artistic works entitled Diffusing Boxes series (1992) and Diffusing Posters (1993), his conception and installation works named Dividing Line-A Stack of Non-exhibits (1995) and Art: The Legal Existence of Words and Objects (1996), and his installation and performance artistic works entitled Linear City series (1997-2009, cooperated with Wang Jiahao). Even since then, they have been the DNA of his artistic practice, ie he keeps his eyes peeled for the visual facts in the urban space that reflect social changes, and visualize them with special techniques so as to express his personal views. He will, sometimes, transform those social facts into visual works with active employment of investigation methods in social science for works in the nature of research projects.
It has been noticed that photography is indispensable to the installation and publication of his works. Being aware of the possibility of photography as a recording means of documentaries, he has photographed spontaneously the artistic events he has created and the artistic performances he has implemented. His spontaneity of photography finds expression in the closer connection between his artistic practice and photography as an important technique, and finally in the sole reliance of photography as his means of creation. Ni Weihua's artistic practice by means of photography at the turn of the millennium will be discussed in the following paragraphs:
Since approximately the end of last century, he has started his creation of photography on China's social development and issues related to cities by shooting images in the city space with his camera while walking on the streets, which illustrates politics and consumption. Two series of his kind are Key Words-Development and Harmony series (1998-2012) and Landscape Wall series (2008-2012).
China's modern politics is characterized by public display of political slogans. Despite the prevailing trend of de-politics where economic development and consumption dominate, political slogans have flooded urban and rural public space at the request of the ruling party as a component of public landscape. Thanks to their huge size and conspicuous display location, they are very eye-catching in public. In spite of the fact that they are part of the landscape, they tend to be stains in public space due to the low public awareness of the people who put up the slogans and their abuse of pubic space. They definitely can not be ignored. However, people seem to take no notice of them. They have to co-exist with those slogans, but at the same time, turn a blind eye to them since they are busy with daily life. Those political slogans, as a special reflection of official ideology, have become Ni Weihua's so-called "linguistic events". Since their emergence and existence have become an "event", Ni Weihua, a photographer, regards it as his mission to record and disseminate them by means of photography.
In his series of Key Words-Development and Harmony, Ni Weihua has collected a huge number of political slogans, which contain the "key words", and display them on large size pictures. The key words, although being the target of public criticism, are part of long slogans and beautiful pictures for the sake of rhetoric. They might not appeal to people if they fail to stand out from the rest of the slogan in certain form. By cutting them out or framing them with dotted line, Ni Weihua makes them conspicuous. While the exceptional effect of cutting out can be achieved with photography.
When the ruling party pursues their ambition of advancing social development and expresses it in concise and simple key words, Ni Weihua's Key Words series is able to keep pace with the ambition elaborated by the political slogans, as the ruling party can do nothing better than updating their slogans for showing that they advance with the times. In some sense, his job never ceases if politics and society keep developing and changing. To shoot the key words is an effort to keep abreast of the changing times and the goals of the era, while photography has become his dream and means of keeping pace with the times as an artist.
In another series of Landscape Wall, Ni Weihua has presented a stark social class divide in his images by contrasting sharply the background of luxurious real estate advertisements in Shanghai or other cities in China, in costal cities in particular, and the workers at the bottom rung of the society living and working in Shanghai.
Officials around China living on fiscal revenue from land consider the real estate development of state-owned land under the control of the government a most effective way for economic growth, political legality, advancement and personal wealth. In this craze for real estate triggered by the officials, to invent catch phrases for advertisements, to create demand for touting real estate have been the priority of real estate developers and advertisers. Of course, those advertisements tend to be a pack of cleverly designed lies. Pompous and misleading advertisements keep cropping up. To appeal to the passers-by, readers and audience, great effort has to be made not only on fascinating advertising copywriting but also the image. It is the striking real estate advertisements, in particular, the billboards in city streets, have become the materials for Ni Weihua's series of Landscape Wall.
Basically, Ni Weihua packs the billboard and the passers-by in a hurry into one image, which, of course, needs patience. He is selective about the passers-by in the image, who have to be relevant to the ideas he would like to illustrate in the series. All the people in his series are passers-by, irrelevant to the magnificent mansions being built behind them. The only possible relevance that the passers-by bear to the mansions might be the fact that they are the construction workers. Therefore, occasionally workers in safety caps will be seen in his series. Nevertheless, the irrelevance between the two is most prominent. They are just construction workers. Never can they be the owners of the mansions. This is Ni Weihua's purpose, to emphasize stark social disparity and social class divide with the co-existence of mansions and construction workers. Citizens and migrant workers not on an equal footing with the former in his series of Landscape Wall are overwhelmed by the background of the advertisement once they are put in the same image, due to the overwhelming mass of the background and the snobbish contempt of the advertisement. Such a shape contrast between superiority and inferiority has rested much tension on this series, bringing the irreconcilable conflicts in reality into limelight.
Real estate industry has changed the layout of cities, and, at the same time, altered the space landscape with advertisement images tailor-made for city space. Whenever real estate advertisement appears, its image has become part of city space landscape, exerting its influence with its overwhelming existence and changing people's perceptions of cities and life. Urban residents are overshadowed by such assertive images, deprived of their voice in this matter. Gigantic billboards, as a major form of advertising, are put up in and out of the real estate project for the exciting promotion of the project to be completed. It is beyond human capacity how many projects live up to their advertising promises.
The sensational advertising copywritings of real estate under the cloak of commercial advertisements are, in fact, another form of posters and slogans. But their agitation appears to be irrelevant to the ideology of the key words put forward by the ruling party.
But, interestingly, development and harmony advocated in the Key Words conflicts with superiority and dignity, the identity and social class awareness preached in the advertisements in Landscape Wall. Harmony aims to cover the real social divide; while real estate advertisements preach without scruple superiority catering to the needs of minority for identity and status. As a result, whenever superiority is upholding, harmony in the Key Words is abandoned without any doubt. But fundamentally, the pursuance of harmony and the emphasis on exclusiveness and dignity might be two sides of one coin. We will not be able to pierce the veil of the society nowadays without putting the two together.
Ni Weihua has made the image and words, a component of city space landscape, the background or the subject of his pictures, which have become a political existence in the city. The political existence, under the pretext of illusory consumption ideology, promotes the commercial appeal, or pacifies people with empty political slogans. Diverse as they are, one thing is certain: they are both ideology in nature. Hasn't the overwhelming ideological image formed an important aspect of today's political images? They are both presented in Ni Weihua's exhibition, a most self-evident presentation of a paradoxical society in China nowadays.
In terms of technique, the series of Key Words and Landscape Wall have one thing in common, ie images are snapshot. His works do not pursue light and shade or composition advocated by traditional photography, instead, they capture the theme directly, whose aesthetics interest differs widely from that of traditional photography. His two series created by photography might be deemed as conception photography. If we ponder over them, we might not reach such a superficial conclusion.
To put it simple, conception photography refers to the shooting of thought-provoking photos that gives top priority to conception. In this sense, Ni Weihua's two series belong to conception photography for sure. But for the exact presentation of the ideas in conception photography, directing and shooting techniques are employed to control the image effect. Therefore, conception photos are rather apt to be shot with directing techniques. From this perspective, the techniques do not apply to Ni Weihua's series. He often expresses his conceptions by means of snapshot, which is taken as inappropriate or even out-dated by traditional photography.
Traditional street photography, generally, reflects the combination of human, landscape and events in the eyes of photographers. Ni Weihua's Landscape Wall is also a combination of those three factors. But its landscape differs from the above-mentioned one in that it is the background of advertising images. Its combination of human and landscape is a two-phase combination of illusion and reality. The contrast of those images is much sharper than that of images in traditional street photography consisting of real human and landscape.
His street photography with his own conceptions have expanded the definition of street photography, a long existing presentation form of photography. To some degree, the works of such photographers as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Daido Moriyama have embodied full-fledged presentation form of street photography, which focus on the interesting daily life on the street and image composition, a combination of documentary account with personal feelings. But it is inclined to focus on the non-social matters. While Ni Weihua's street photography distinguishes from that of the fore-mentioned photographers with his purpose and focus. Ni Weihua's works can be named street conception photography to the effect that he airs his views on some perspectives of the society with materials he has captured consciously from the street. Compared with the practice and specific views expressed in the photography of the said street photography masters, Ni Weihua's techniques and purpose are different and unprecedented to me. His street conception photography, as a clear presentation of his views on the society, has provoked our thoughts on the purpose of street photography and conception photography.
Perhaps we can only perceive his artistic works as photography between conception and documentary account. It might not be important nor imperative to determine the nature of his photography. We can find in Ni Weihua's works that the political slogans and commercial advertisements have one thing in common-empty promise. It is the contrast between aspiration and reality that has granted inherent power to his two series. If Key Words is the photography where he reflects political ideology, it is justifiable to regard his series of Landscape Wall as the photography where he reviews commercial ideology. This is the visual inspiration of images and political images drew from his photography.
September 8th, 2012 Shanghai