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祝贺鲁小本同学新书成功发布！再接再厉！突破两米！

他，两米高。这是所有人见到他的最初印象。并非因为身高，而是因为醒目。因此他在中国学会的第一句话不是“你好”而是“两米”。鲁小本一直这样回答着一切因为身高而引来的问号，并且乐在其中：当我看到他们见到我后的表情，我觉得自己是Famous！

就像所有外国人一样，他们在中国受到了比常人更多的议论与目光，这种关注让他们倍感奇妙的情感反应，鲁小本尤为如此。但如果说他的摄影作品与中西文化差异有关，那或许是一种太过狭隘的诠释。虽然我们从他以前的作品（例如《空瓶子》）看到了西方摄影师对中国社会现象的关注与理解，但这并不是单纯地文化差异带来的创作本源。鲁小本同其他白人摄影师眼中对东方的理解与表现不同。他并非单纯地呈现“不同”，而是谋求某种“融合”。这种融合不是东西文化的对接，而是脱离人种皮囊下的内在植入。

就像本次展览的内容，鲁小本通过摄影、装置和互动参与的形式完成了他贯穿整个创作的符号“两米”的表达。在摄影中我们看到了出现在不同日常生活中的“两米大尺”，更在展览现场看到了同一身高标尺下的不同位置的差异呈现。我们在鲁小本的创作中体会到了一种微妙的角色关系：外国人通过中国人眼中看到的外国人来重见自己。当然，这是一条作为明线的铺设，而隐含在鲁小本刻意制造的“格格不入”的戏剧性表现背后的，是一种寻求认同与包容的情感需要。摄影记录了由思想与意志所产生的行为，更通过行为完成了摄影作品。在作品中我们能够通过鲁小本安排下呈现的两个不同阵线的人群（西方人和东方人的阵线、或高个子人和矮个子人、或男人和女人）的差异，看到他试图将两个阵线的人群统一到一个体系中，而这个工具就是他自己所扮演的“尺”。他通过意符的大量重复使用，而逐渐强调和明晰了延展出来的意涵。

在作品中我们看到了鲁小本独特的幽默感，他擅用自我嘲解的方式，用自己独特的符号传达他所要表达的思想与语言。他通过“差异”找到“共同”，再由“共同”得到“认同”。在这个过程中，鲁小本小心地把握了表达者与感受方的距离、小我世界与群体社会的距离、差异与同化的距离、以及表象与隐喻的距离。因此，“两米”与“Famous”直间产生了某种因果关系。但不管是“两米”，还是“Famous”，我们都将记住的是：他是鲁小本。

Look! There is Big Ben

“Wa Sai!” in Chinese is comparable to “Oh my god!” in English. It’s a comment often said by the Chinese when passing Ruben Lundgren on the streets of Beijing. The reason for this reaction is obviously his striking height, outstanding within the capital’s crowd. The usual “Ni Hao” was not the first sentence Lundgren learned after his arrival in China, but the answer “Liang Mi”, meaning two meter, turned out to be more useful. Ruben in Chinese is also Lu Xiaoben or Big Ben, which continuously answers the flow of questions caused by his height. It doesn’t bother him much anymore; within this project he found a way to enjoy it. “When I see the way people look at me,” he says with a smile on his face, “I feel like a superstar.”

Almost all foreigners in China receive comments and an extra dose of attention compared to local citizens, a tall Dutch student is no exception to this rule. However, it would be too narrow-minded to say that his latest project only focuses on differences between Chinese and Western culture. In earlier projects, like “Empty Bottles” (2007), we notice an interest towards Chinese social issues. The source of his work is not simply inspired by cultural exchange. Other then most western photographers, Ruben creates his own perspective and understandings of China rooted within the orient itself. He is not just showing us outside differences comparing two worlds but searches for a harmony between them. This goes beyond the traditional way where foreigners are looking at instead of from China.

In the project Ruben uses his two-meter height in a wide variation of media. Beside photographs, we see light boxes, magazines, video stills, banners and photography performances. The "living ruler suit" is a good example within this collection of ideas. Placed in a white studio it is a clear photograph, while placed within the setting of a vegetable market or museum it becomes a performance. These works are also showing us a playful way of exploring Chinese characters. The handwritten work statement, for instance, lays the foundation on which the project is build. It declares stardom in five basic sentences that have an adorable, almost childish spirit: “When I walk on the streets of Beijing I feel like a celebrity. Many people look at me. This I want to use for my new project. My goal: to become a real Chinese celebrity before graduation. Today I start.” Of course, this is just the surface. The essence underneath this statement is an emotional desire for acceptance within a new environment, a search for identity and a definition of reality.

The photographic medium is a complicated factor in this process as photographs can fool us with a reality that is created. The project explores the possibilities of make-belief within Chinese society using the body as the main tool. The repeated use of Chinese characters, the variety of media, the great sense of humour and the self-mockery all emphasize this and at the same time help us understand the meaning underneath it.

By comparing height differences Ruben found similarities; by regarding the unknown he identified himself. And in this process, Ruben carefully measures the distance between himself and society, creator and consumer, surface and depth and in the end, one reality to another. As we can see his stardom rising in China by the day, we can regard the whole project as one big self-fulfilling prophecy. Whatever will happen in the future, superstar or not, there is one thing that will always remain the same: the ability to easily recognize him from afar. Look! There is Big Ben.