More than a painting, an exhibition or a book Les fragments de vérité que nous pourchassons sont comme des papillons: en cherchent à les fixer, nous les tuons. 1 At the heart of this book, and the eponymous exhibition that preceded it, is the principle of friendship, across cultures, borders, years and expertise, through art-here, specifically, the art of Zhang Peili. At a time of mounting practical urgencies globally, 'friendship' may seem an amorphous, romantic, even privileged or frivolous notion. It is hollowed, for example, by its frequent use in the personification of nations, or in oxymorons like 'friendly fire'. Yet, whether considering the degradation of ecological systems or the erosion of common rights and norms, such an 'open' and intuitive relationship, encompassing mutual understanding and a collaborative will, capable of transcending national and ethnic identities, is more potent and more precious than ever. All of this usually remains unsaid in friendship, the non-utilitarian character of which is precisely its intrinsic value. A painting This project began with a gift. In the mid-1990s, Zhang Peili gave two of his last paintings to his close friend and fellow artist, the New York-based photographer Lois Conner. Then, in 2014, on the occasion of her own exhibition, Lois brought one of these to Canberra, as a gift to honour Geremie R. Barmé as the founding director of the newly opened Australian Centre on China in the World and, more importantly, as a long-time mutual friend.
