Birdhead
鳥頭／バードヘッド
Birdhead is an art unit formed in 2004 by Song Tao (b. 1979) and Ji Weiyu (b. 1980). Both graduated from the Shanghai Art and Crafts School and are based in Shanghai.
Throughout their 20-year career, they have continued to push the limits of photographic technique and narrative in order to give voice to, celebrate, and critique the world around them.
Their work is diverse in media, including matrixes of photographic images, collages, special mounting techniques, installations, and photobooks. In a variety of exhibition spaces and environments, he realizes a unique “Birdhead World” that is multifaceted and ever-evolving. In recent years, his work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including “Feeling the Stones” (Diriyah Biennial, Saudi Arabia, 2021) and “Kairani” (Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum, Shanghai, 2020). His works are in the collections of the Tate Modern, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Shanghai Museum of Modern Art, among others.
Publications
2019 - "Kuang" Imageless
2024 - "Yunyun" Imageless
2024 - "Yunyun" Imageless
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2019 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again,Tokyo Kudan house,Japan
2019 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again,Lianzhou 2019，Lianzhou museum of photography,Guangdong
2018 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again, Beijing 2018, ShanghART Beijing, Beijing
2017 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again - Italy 2017, Gluck 50, Itlay
2016 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again, Shanghai Meets Sils Maria 2016, Andrea Robbi Museum, Sils Maria, Switzerland
2016 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again - Singapore 2016, ShanghART Singapore, Singapore
2016 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again - Shanghai 2016, Fab-Union Space on the West Bund, Shanghai
2016 - Birdhead-Art Unlimited Art Basel 2016, Booth Nr. U46, Basel, Switzerland
2016 - Birdhead Special Project: Landscape, ShanghART S-Space798 Art Zone, Beijing
2016 - Birdhead - Welcome to Birdhead world again Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
2015 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai
2014 - Birdhead Solo Exhibition, Yifeng Galleria (Bottega Veneta), Shanghai
2012 - Welcome to Bird Head World Again-Beijing 2012, ShanghART Beijing, Beijing
2012 - Welcome to the World of Bird Head Again-London, Paradise Row Gallery, London, U.K.
2011 - Birdhead: New Village, EX3 Centro per l'arte Contemporanea Firenze, Florence, Italy
2011 - Artist File 2011 The NACT Annual Show of Contemporary Art, National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan
2010 - Welcome to the World of Bird Head Again-2010, Guangzhou; Lianzhou
2009 - Birdhead: Ji Weiyu & Song Tao, Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, U.K.
2008 - Landscape, Birdhead Solo Exhibition, ShanghART F-Space, Shanghai
2007 - Birdhead 2006+2007, Photography Show by SONG Tao and JI Weiyu, BizArt, Shanghai
2005 - Welcome to Bird Head World, Photography by Bird Head 2004-2005, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai
2019 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again,Lianzhou 2019，Lianzhou museum of photography,Guangdong
2018 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again, Beijing 2018, ShanghART Beijing, Beijing
2017 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again - Italy 2017, Gluck 50, Itlay
2016 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again, Shanghai Meets Sils Maria 2016, Andrea Robbi Museum, Sils Maria, Switzerland
2016 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again - Singapore 2016, ShanghART Singapore, Singapore
2016 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again - Shanghai 2016, Fab-Union Space on the West Bund, Shanghai
2016 - Birdhead-Art Unlimited Art Basel 2016, Booth Nr. U46, Basel, Switzerland
2016 - Birdhead Special Project: Landscape, ShanghART S-Space798 Art Zone, Beijing
2016 - Birdhead - Welcome to Birdhead world again Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
2015 - Welcome to Birdhead World Again, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai
2014 - Birdhead Solo Exhibition, Yifeng Galleria (Bottega Veneta), Shanghai
2012 - Welcome to Bird Head World Again-Beijing 2012, ShanghART Beijing, Beijing
2012 - Welcome to the World of Bird Head Again-London, Paradise Row Gallery, London, U.K.
2011 - Birdhead: New Village, EX3 Centro per l'arte Contemporanea Firenze, Florence, Italy
2011 - Artist File 2011 The NACT Annual Show of Contemporary Art, National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan
2010 - Welcome to the World of Bird Head Again-2010, Guangzhou; Lianzhou
2009 - Birdhead: Ji Weiyu & Song Tao, Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, U.K.
2008 - Landscape, Birdhead Solo Exhibition, ShanghART F-Space, Shanghai
2007 - Birdhead 2006+2007, Photography Show by SONG Tao and JI Weiyu, BizArt, Shanghai
2005 - Welcome to Bird Head World, Photography by Bird Head 2004-2005, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021-2022 - Diriyah Biennale: Feeling the Stones,Group Exhibition JAX District, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
2021 - City on the Edge: Art and Shanghai at the Turn of the Millennium, UCCA edge, Shanghai
2020 - Shanghai Waves: Historical Archives and Works of Shanghai Biennale, PSA, Shanghai
2019 - The Avant-Garde is Not Afraid of a Long March,ShanghART Singapore , Singapore
2019 - Shanghai Galaxy II, Yuz Museum, Shanghai
2019 - Mass Energy 1862 HBC Contemporary Art Exhibition, Shipyard 1862, Shanghai
2019 - 40 Years of Chinese Contemporary Photography (1976-2017), The 10th Anniversary Special
2019 - When the Other Meets the Other Other, Cultural Center of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
2019 - Living Cities, Tate Modern, London, U.K.
2019 - The 6th Moscow Biennale, How to gather? Acting in a city in the heart of the island of Eurasia, Moscow, Russia
2019 - Shanghai Ever, MOCA, Shanghai
2019 - Jing Shen, The Act of Painting in Contemporary China, PAC - Milan museum of contemporary art, Italy
2014 - Performance and Imaginations: Photography from China 1911-2014, Museum Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
2014 - My Generation: Young Chinese Artists, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL. and Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A.
2014 - Hugo Boss Asia Art Award, Exhibition of Finalist Artists, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai
2014 - Clutch, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai
2014 - Portrait of the Times, 30 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art, Power Station of Art, Shanghai
2014 - Revel, Celebrating MoCA's 8 Years in Shanghai, MoCA, Shanghai
2014 - ON|OFF, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing
2012 - New Photography 2012, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A.
2012 - 9th Shanghai Biennale, Reactivation, Power Station of Art, Shanghai
2012 - Architectural Photography - Made in China, Guest Exhibition of the International Photography Scene in Koeln Museum of 2012 - Applied Arts, MAKK, Cologne, Germany
2011 - The 54th Venice Biennale——ILLUMInations, Venice, Italy
2010 - Focus Shanghai, Lu Chunsheng and Birdhead, Thomas Erben Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2010 - China Power Station: Part IV, Pinacoteca Agnelli, Torino, Italy
2009 - Emporium, A New Common Sense of Space, The National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci", Milano, Italy
2009 - Reversed Image, Representations of Shanghai and its Contemporary Material Culture, Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, U.S.A.
2009 - Warm Up, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai
2009 - Up Close, Far Away, Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany
2008 - Insomnia, Photographs Exhibition, BizART, Shanghai
2008 - China Power Station: Part II, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway
2005 - The 1st Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Double Vision, Culture Square Lianzhou, Lianzhou, Guangdong
2021 - City on the Edge: Art and Shanghai at the Turn of the Millennium, UCCA edge, Shanghai
2020 - Shanghai Waves: Historical Archives and Works of Shanghai Biennale, PSA, Shanghai
2019 - The Avant-Garde is Not Afraid of a Long March,ShanghART Singapore , Singapore
2019 - Shanghai Galaxy II, Yuz Museum, Shanghai
2019 - Mass Energy 1862 HBC Contemporary Art Exhibition, Shipyard 1862, Shanghai
2019 - 40 Years of Chinese Contemporary Photography (1976-2017), The 10th Anniversary Special
2019 - When the Other Meets the Other Other, Cultural Center of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
2019 - Living Cities, Tate Modern, London, U.K.
2019 - The 6th Moscow Biennale, How to gather? Acting in a city in the heart of the island of Eurasia, Moscow, Russia
2019 - Shanghai Ever, MOCA, Shanghai
2019 - Jing Shen, The Act of Painting in Contemporary China, PAC - Milan museum of contemporary art, Italy
2014 - Performance and Imaginations: Photography from China 1911-2014, Museum Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
2014 - My Generation: Young Chinese Artists, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL. and Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A.
2014 - Hugo Boss Asia Art Award, Exhibition of Finalist Artists, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai
2014 - Clutch, ShanghART H-Space, Shanghai
2014 - Portrait of the Times, 30 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art, Power Station of Art, Shanghai
2014 - Revel, Celebrating MoCA's 8 Years in Shanghai, MoCA, Shanghai
2014 - ON|OFF, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing
2012 - New Photography 2012, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A.
2012 - 9th Shanghai Biennale, Reactivation, Power Station of Art, Shanghai
2012 - Architectural Photography - Made in China, Guest Exhibition of the International Photography Scene in Koeln Museum of 2012 - Applied Arts, MAKK, Cologne, Germany
2011 - The 54th Venice Biennale——ILLUMInations, Venice, Italy
2010 - Focus Shanghai, Lu Chunsheng and Birdhead, Thomas Erben Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2010 - China Power Station: Part IV, Pinacoteca Agnelli, Torino, Italy
2009 - Emporium, A New Common Sense of Space, The National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci", Milano, Italy
2009 - Reversed Image, Representations of Shanghai and its Contemporary Material Culture, Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, U.S.A.
2009 - Warm Up, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai
2009 - Up Close, Far Away, Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany
2008 - Insomnia, Photographs Exhibition, BizART, Shanghai
2008 - China Power Station: Part II, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway
2005 - The 1st Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Double Vision, Culture Square Lianzhou, Lianzhou, Guangdong
Awards
The Margulies Collection, Miami, U.S.A
Wemhöner Collection, Germany
Tate, London, U.K.
Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway
MOMA New York, New York, U.S.A
Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation, Switzerland
Wemhöner Collection, Germany
Tate, London, U.K.
Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway
MOMA New York, New York, U.S.A
Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation, Switzerland
Collections
Tate Modern
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Shanghai Museum of Modern Art, etc.
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Shanghai Museum of Modern Art, etc.
