Tag: china

opinions requested of me

Every now and again people ask for my opinions about Beijing or China in general, or the art scene in this neck of the woods. If I’m replying by email then I tend to put a lot of thought into what I write∗, and I probably take it a bit more seriously than I should. So these responses usually end up becoming mini-essays (probably not what the interlocutor expected or wanted, but they asked for it), a lot of which gets edited out towards the end of the process. I’m now thinking I shouldn’t be wasting all these pearls of wisdom which I spew forth—they’re relevant to my time and work here and may provide some kind of insight into one person’s experiences—so I’m going to repurpose them for the blog as they occur. I don’t expect them to change the world, but I post them in the hope they will be a mild diversion for others.

∗ There is of course no difference between my textual and verbal processes, just that with face-to-face communication, I can usually tell when I’m boring the other person.

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Zu Jing’s opening

Announcing that our next show at CPU:798 will be opening next weekend. This will also be the first new show in our new space, so I’m pretty excited about it.

The show is called “Frivolous” and is a set of installation by our artist Zu Jing. Zu Jing hails from Beijing and although she’s been working for a few years now on the series which we are presenting, this is the first showing of them in a gallery. She’s a very talented artist for whom we have high hopes! I’ve written a short introduction to the show on the website and will do a longer text over the next week.

So do join us next Saturday!

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Shu Yong at Highlight Gallery

Shu Yong at Highlight Gallery

Shu Yong at Highlight Gallery

Highlight Gallery have just opened a group show called Body Media, and although I’ve not been in to see the show yet, it’s been difficult to miss the piece that they’ve placed outside the gallery.

Highlight Gallery is right by one of the entrances to the 798 Art District in Beijing, so placing this particular sculpture outside the gallery, beside the main road was always going to be somewhat problematic (is it obvious what they are? Clue: there’s a tiny woman flying behind them and to which they are connected). And this is the result.

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Gallery pics

Dust is Dust installation

Dust is Dust installation (2008) by Wang Yuyang

I just posted some pictures of the gallery to flickr. Unfortunately, it’s a very small space and the installation uses reduced lighting, and these two factors show up the shortcomings of my camera, but the pictures give a flavour of what we have here.

I was thinking about the show the other day, and why I like it so much. I usually profess to prefer more socially committed work, or work which has some sort interaction for the viewer or direct effect, and this would appear not to have such if you looked at it superficially. However, through talking to the artist (via interpreter, obviously) and thinking about his work’s methods, I’ve come to appreciate the meaning and significance of these works more and more, and how these actually have as much effect in their way as the kind of work I usually go for.

The pursuit of truth is a very strong and emotive subject, and one which is probably common to all of us in some shape or form. Closely allied with truth would be understanding, one step towards truth. The means we take in the pursuit of truth and understanding vary massively – this show and some of the artist’s other pieces investigate the place science and technology take in the formation of ‘truths’ through the facilitation of understanding. Their relationship is scrutinised by the artist and in the pieces is opened up to analysis in itself by the viewer, potentially clarifying the constructions in play.

A corollary of this activity would be that the artist’s very actions are just adding a further layer of complexity to the process. Analysis could go on forever, but at some point we stop, take stock and report on what it is that we have found. Written into that report is the awareness that this is very much a provisional state. This is an artificial, man-made point and one which is as much a construction as any in the subject matter.

Artificial Moon (2007)

Artificial Moon (2007) by Wang Yuyang

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