Ding Ren: SIGHT, SOUND

Watch a home performance presented by Voids in the Archive, a collaboration between photographer Ding Ren and her partner, who is a musician. Debuting their newest member, this performance was recorded at and nearby the artist’s home in Amsterdam, and provides viewers an intimate glimpse into Ren’s inner world. 

For the past 7 years, Ren has had to change the way she lives and exists in the world due to a rare medical condition. During that time, Ren would write poetry about her experience, which her partner used as lyrics. These songs have been kept rather private, much like how Ren kept her condition, because it was too heavy and unknown. 

Now, Ren finds herself free from the personal lockdown, as her condition resolved itself after the birth of her son. As she emerged from her personal lockdown, the world started to embark on a communal, universal lockdown, with the same unknown and heavy feelings clouding over us. With this in mind, Ren thought it would be a fitting moment to share some never-shared-before music, that was created with the spirit of a slowed-down, quieter, and liminal time in mind. 

Ding Ren was born in China, grew up in the United States and is currently based between MD and Amsterdam (NL). Through a cross-cultural, field driven approach, her analogue photography seeks to draw the viewer's attention to the subtle details of spaces they already inhabit. You can purchase her works from our FlatFile shop! 

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At home performance by Voids in the Archive for "Evoking the Senses" Transformer’s Flatfile exhibition from Dec. 2020 - Feb. 2021. Cozy winter vibes and debuting their newest member. The sweaters they are wearing are hand knit by Ding Ren.

"Gestural Landscapes" Lyrics

what do you see
off in the distance
nettle tea -- collected from the forest
grains of white sand
between hairstrands
wild bursts of light -- crippling slowly

quiet bouts of welcome solitude
quiet bouts of welcome solitude
into the distance
into the distance
until it arrives
and becomes true
and becomes true
and becomes true

the green of rolling hills
off in the distance
our reflections on a train window
the barks of trees
the grooves of history
purpose as defined as a solid rock

quiet bouts of welcome solitude
into the distance
into the distance
until it arrives
and becomes true
and becomes true
and becomes true

(a floating kite
off in the distance
shadows flowing in the evening breeze
landscapes of gestures
and fleeting textures
moving forward
grasping for balance*)

*in this performance the 3rd verse is omitted

"A Passing Storm" Lyrics

single droplets on the window
merging bodies to form one shadow
the cold breeze sinking into my skin
soft linen sheets bright and thin

and the darkness surrounds
and the rain pelting down
and the patterns of sound
of the rain pelting down

the smell of the night settling in
and the rustling of the wind
flickering lights all along the coast
what i yearn to see the most

and the darkness surrounds
and the rain pelting down
and the patterns of sound
of the rain pelting down

i can smell the night
i can smell this night
i can smell the night
i can smell this night
lightening strikes
i can smell this night
lightening strikes
i can smell this night
flickering candlelight
i can smell this night
flickering candlelight
i can smell this night

and the darkness surrounds
and the rain pelting down
and the patterns of sound
of the rain pelting down

falling slowly
into billowing dust
shivering to the bone
falling slowly
into billowing dust
i don't want to feel alone