A Muk Yan Jong (Wooden Man Post) is a wooden dummy used to simulate an opponent in Wing Chun. A Jong is figurative, a physical shorthand for the body, the bare minimum to represent limbs and tensions. Here, the Jongs stand in for The Fates, providing an opportunity to fight them, to push back, yet are ultimately unyielding.
Isabelle Zhizhi Southwood makes objects, drawings, paintings, videos & sounds about experiences that are universal yet feel painfully personal; birth, death, love. The process of making is important, often involving collaboration and sometimes influenced by a mixed Chinese and British heritage.
After studying at The Slade, UCL, receiving the Grocers’ Queen’s Golden Jubilee Scholarship and Clare Winsten Memorial Award, Isabelle co-founded Turf Projects. Previous exhibitions include Young London (V22, London), Polycephaly (Pulchri Studio, The Netherlands), Tru Luv (Turf Projects, Croydon), Bloomberg New Contemporaries (Spike Island, Bristol & ICA, London).
www.izsouthwood.com