Chen Hangfeng: Cups,spotlight, wall, cups, water, mechanic device and timer, dimensions variable, 2010
I collected these cups from the staff lounges of a supermarket,a factory and two pharmacies. They are used by the staff during their break.Some of the items are recycled bottles or jars from various consumable goods, such as tea, coffee, cured fruit or spices...Since about 10 or 20 people have to share these staff lounges, each of the staff uses a cup of different size, colour and material,so that no mixing up is possible. Once I had collected the cups, I put them on the table in a dark space. The cups are filled with water and a beam of light shines on them. Due to the knocking from the mechanic device which hits the floor, there are a series of rippling reflections on the wall.
Ed Pien: Rebellion, Redemption, Regeneration, hand-cut digital print on Arches paper, 76 x 101 cm, 2011
These paper-cuts are made from digital outputs of manipulated images which play out a fascination with light and shadow, presence and ephemerality.
The open-ended narratives of figures enacting the performative within a dense webbing of tangled tree branches, invite viewers to participate in formulating their own set of interpretations.
The gestures in these works explore dream-like states and visions, while variations of depth of field and movement hint at a cinematic experience; touching on the realm of the uncanny.
The first, entitled “Redemption,” conveys a sense of the ethereal weightlessness of uninhibited movement. The dark, opaque forms of the tree create a sharp silhouette that appears to cradle the image with a skeletal hand. Its branches create an intricate network of connections. From it, a figure leaps from the safety of its limbs into a seemingly un-occupied void, with only blurred suggestions of the world from where he will tumble. Is it a frightful and empty descent into the unknown, or a joyous liberation from the complex and impenetrable milieu?
In “Regeneration” figures survey the labyrinth from a strong limb with a still, pensive stance. The silhouettes take on different forms, with some shrinking into twigs while others appear to hatch serpent-like heads.
The final work, “Rebellion,” conjures a sense of dissonant angst, revealing images brimming with mystery. The dark, windowless homes within conceal any suggestions of their inhabitants’ activities, screening what facets may differentiate living contently in quiet seclusion, versus bleak isolation. Are they guardians of their world, or is this disquiet scene their hostage?这些纸片是从可控的数码输出
Ji Wenyu: Grab and Help, installation, cloth and other materials 145 x 70 cm, 2010
Clutching a cloth, these people are losing their balance. The People on the one side of the cloth will soon fall off while the people on the other side are grasping the cloth to save themselves. Actually, they save the dying ones so as not to be dragged to the abyss. Their fate seems similar, grasping for survival.
Could it be said that our earth and world is just the same?
Li Xiaofei: Assembly Line Foreign Boss, Video, 09”46', 2010
Repetitive, solid, mechanical, no creative abilities, lacking in emotions – these are all the characteristics which we will find in an assembly line, but what we are missing is the noises of the machines and the workers which can be picked out by the careful listener. The assembly line must run without a hitch, and it’s crucial that one operation doesn’t over produce – it’s like a relay race, one process follows on the heels of the other – that’s the way to maximize production. It’s true that assembly line work is essentially an intense and stifling job, which pays little attention to pleas or requests [of the workers], it’s because of the industrial attitude of workers and foremen: serious and single minded. Still, we enjoy the fruits of contemporary civilization, we are eating, wearing and using products from the assembly line. The assembly line essentially doesn’t require creativity – it’s just a phase in the operation process. Apart from that, the other things that happen to the worker – life, reality, the bitterness and the beauty, can coincidentally be viewed right on the factory floor.
Monika Lin: Skipping Girls No. 5, plaster replicas of pills, polymer paint (acrylic), epoxy resin and ink on wood panel, 35 x 25 cm, 2010
This series entitled “Double Happines” is in part an investigation into our country’s growing dependence on medication as a means towards psychiatric health. The psycho-pharmaceutical industry has broadened its reach to include treatment of mild disorders through prescription medication without psychological co-treatment nor placing restrictions on usage, thus creating a society in which individuals are medicated for unregulated and indefinite periods of time rather than encouraged to make the necessary adjustments in order to deal with fluctuating stress in their lives. Motivated by financial gain, the pharmaceutical industry has resorted to the same marketing strategies as purveyors of more conventional consumer items.
This marketing is so convincing in promoting the attainment of happiness through medication that the issue of self-diagnosis presents itself in an alarming fashion.
Increasing numbers of individuals deceived by such promotion now view unthreatening signs of discomfort or poor health as symptomatic of medical conditions that may not exist. Coerced and trusting patients demand of their doctors drug treatments based on the perpetuated mis-information, establishing a society of the self-medicated as well as the self-diagnosed.
Qian Rong: Small Collective, No.1, sculpture, fiberglass, steel sheeting, photographs and toys, 41x 33 x16 cm, 2011
Collectivism is a neutral word, depending on where you put it. We need the collective’s power to overcome difficulties and survive natural disasters. However, if we emphasize collectivism excessively, side effects may crop up.
Moreover, someone may take advantage of this collective spirit, and cause the opposite effect. Throughout history, many extremist groups have used the banner of collectivism to hold sway over the country. In this kind of group, the individual is worthless and becomes a cog in a machine. The old people singing by the Yellow River Waterfall (pictured above) are re-living their impassioned youth but the throaty sonorous songs also contain some bitterness, due to a sense of alienation and helplessness at how their fate was ruthlessly determined.
Sometimes the tragic nature of collectivism is covered up, even given a glorious and respectable mantle. Until now, some small groups even monopolize and control most of the collective, hand in glove with their despicable partners in more cooperation. These works exhibit my view on collectivism’s history and current status, and also offer space for reflection.
Zhou Xiaohu: Crazy English Camp Tate Modern 2010, Video, 04”20', 2010
Crazy English has arrived in its mother country. Zhou Xiaohu has brought an English teacher from China to teach a group of volunteers from the motherland of English in the “Crazy English” style. The site of the exhibition, the location, space and relevant conditions, have changed the original performance and the specific connection it’s the environment (i.e. China).
The goal of “Crazy English Camp” is to purposely change the teaching behavior, to make teaching and studying a kind of alienating experience. The expanding implications of English are changed when put into a strange and foreign cultural environment. When a language and it’s culture leave their maternal environment, and then return to be transplanted into that same environment the sense of alienness is multiplied – it becomes a crazy international landscape.
