Untitled Document

Shanghai Star, September 30 - October 6, 2004

Visual Art Season

by Yvonne Zhang

A series of exhibitions featuring video and photographic works are now on around town in time for the Shanghai Biennale.

The events, together with the core exhibition of the Biennale forms Shanghai's avant-garde art season for the coming month.

The "Matchmaking" event in the Suzhou Creek art community involves many artists and international exchanges. This event was initiated by Eastlink Gallery, which sent out invitations around the world asking new media artists to come to Shanghai to work on projects with local artists.

International artists started to arrive at the warehouses at 50 Moganshan Lu on September 13. The factory complex hosts the world's largest independent art community in town . The artists have either found partners among locals or formulated plans for new projects.

Australian artist Richard Thomas has built a field of Chrysanthemum flowers, and local artist Su Bing is participating in the project by entering it naked, turning it from an installation into a performance project.

But not all of the cooperation was in such an intimate style. Video artist Kylie Wilkinson is concerned with social issues. She and local artist Chen Qiang designed some questions and interviewed people, producing a video project.

A woman artist from Japan Yuca Ishizuka, made a project inspired by ancient Chinese "women's writing". This writing is a unique system spread among women in remote rural areas in China through which they expressed pent up frustrations and exchanged their feelings. "The suicide rate was very low in the area," Ishizuka said. Her installation is made of crystal beads strung on transparent threads.

Sound installations, inflatable scultures and public billboard projects are also among the exhibits in the "Matchmaking". Eastlink intentionally chose new media artists, hoping to bring refreshing ideas to local artists in the Moganshan community.

Li Juchuan, associate professor from the Architecture Institute of Nanking University, will draw a red line across the architecture community presenting the building line, which usually appears on the architectural blueprints, in the actual environment.

The red line has been a sensitive issue all over China where urbanisation has been taking place at an overwhelming pace. The line makes it very clear what impact design plans can have on peoples lives. And Li's project taps into the uncertain future faced by the Moganshan community. It is the most vibrant art commune in town, and may be torn down if future urban planning goes ahead.

Also taking place is an exhibition named "Blockhouse" in the High Noon Art Space in the Pudong. The show features four video projects and and three photographs by Tung Guangming.

Tang's interests lie in the intellectual history of China. Cultural relics and literary masters are his favorite subjects. "Blockhouse" refers to some battlefield relics in suburban Shanghai. The buildings lost their function in the changing city because the boundaries they guarded no longer exist.

The marginalised blockhouses reflect a nonchalance towards failure and helplessness in the face of a changed cultural environment.

The third exhibition at the Aura Gallery features photographs recording some performance projects by Chinese and overseas artists. Zhuan Huan's work recalls searching and loss of self identity while An Hong elaborates on transsexuality in traditional Chinese operas.

.....................................................................................................................

Matcmaking at Suzhou Creek, September 29 - October 10, 50 Moganshan Lu, tel: 6276 - 9932

Blockhouse, Until October 22, High Noon Art Space, 3F 1019 Laoshan Xilu, tel: 5887-2314

Face to Face, Until October 20, Aura Gallery 3F, 713 Dongdaming Lu, tel: 6595-0901