ShanghART Gallery VIDEO ARCHIVE


LU CHUNSHENG

Trotzky Murdered in Summer, Gentlemen in Financial Crisis Got More Depressed (2003), single channel video, 22’, ed. of 5
In Murdered Trotsky in Summer, Gentlemen in Financial Circles Got More Depressed, scenes of a modern-day corporate environment are cut with the enactment of a murder. Not following the actual circumstance of Trotsky's death, the scenes played out by the costumed young men are something more like a sketchily-remembered idea. While the bulk of the action is in black and white, a colour sequence folows in a more obviously contemporary setting; the young men walk through the streets raging and shouting. Little is resolved, and the viewer is left with the sense that they are as perplexed by the slipperiness of collective memory as they are by the murder.

Before the Appearance of the First Steam Engine (2003), single channel video, 35’, ed. of 5
Lu Chunsheng’s film-work Before the Appearance of the First Steam Engine, 2003, is a deft commentary of contemporary China , mixing a socialist's dream, a dark underworld, and a quest for wealth. Like his fellow countryman Yang Fudong, Lu Chunsheng's films show the influence of French new wave cinema. Until 2000, foreign films were largely unavailable in China with the result that Chinese artists view Western cinema history with fresh eyes.

History of Chemistry II (2006), single channel video, 95’, ed. of 5
Lu Chunsheng’s highly distinctive feature length film “History of Chemistry II” is staged in vacant spaces where the protagonists seem lost or detached from reality, wandering around like somnambulant sleep-walkers. Correspondingly, the most significant aspect of the film is its absence of any clear narrative, instead the film is structured around repetition: In Beckett-like absurd scenes we witness the characters repeating actions that make no obvious sense. The performances are perfectly synchronized to the sound score composed by B6. The film’s odd charisma clearly plays homage to the surrealist works of Fellini and Bunuel.

The Curve which Can Cough (2001), single channel video, 8’
The film ‘The Curve which Can Cough’ is filmed from a bird’s perspective in slow-motion, held in black-and-white. All the film depicts is a performance of people forming a curve or, a continuous bending line, moving slowly around in a parking lot.

It’s All Brother Wright’s Fault (2002), single channel video, 15’
The film ‘It’s All Brother Wright’s Fault’ we follow the protagonist around town – the opening of the film starts with the guy peeing in his pants in front of a group of people. Later we see him as he attends a public bath-room where he gets beaten. In the closing scene the young man awakens in his bed that he has wed. The final scene shows the protagonist on a roof-top shouting to the world: “It’s all brother Wright’s fault…”.



LIANG SHAOJI

Nature Series No. 25 (1999/2007), single channel video, 5’, ed. of 8
In 1999 Liang Shaoji made a video of himself walking barefoot on metal shavings, because he wanted to feel what the silkworms felt as they were crawling over them. (In 1992 Liang started to research how to make silkworms weave on metal shavings). He got a full truckload of shavings and spread them in the factory’s courtyard. The factory workers were his public.
Liang: “I didn’t expect it to be so incredibly painful. The smaller the shavings, the more painful they were. There was no way out, no way to escape the pain except to go forward until I reached the end of the courtyard. I had to go to the hospital afterwards. During that performance I felt like any human being in distress who has no way to give up or to get out of the situation he is in, and still you have to go on living ...”


LIANG YUE

Travelling Day (2006), single channel video, 19’, ed. of 3
‘Travelling Day’ is played out as a documentary movie among a vast group of friends. The group travels from Shanghai to a beach for some leisure time. We witness the young people fooling round, plying with some dogs, drinking beer, throwing stones into the water. It’s a subtle portrait of everyday things in the life of ordinary young people.

Daughter (2006), single channel video, 8’
The very beautiful short film ‘Daughter’ features a young woman who wanders around town until her attention is suddenly drawn to a colorful plastic flower in a shop window. In the next scene we see her at the terrace burning the traditional silver slips of paper to worship the dead – with the plastic flower sitting in the back-ground.


SHI QING

Black Taboo series – Zhoukou Dian (2002), single channel video, 9’, ed. of 5
Black Taboo series – Hungjue Ping (2002), single channel video, 23’, ed. of 5
Black Taboo series – Moxi Town (2002), single channel video, 11’, ed. of 5
In the “Black Taboo” series Shi Qing makes use of ancient mythologies that he ‘translates’ in t modern stories. Viewers encounter fragmentation: some of it coming from unreliable memories, some from worried imagination, and still more from the way in which he portrays the absurdity of everyday life by enlarging and reproducing the ordinary.

Four Appearances series – Rule of Mercury (2003), single channel video, 6’, ed. of 5
Four Appearances series – Got Fire (2003), single channel video, 7’, ed. of 5
Four Appearances series – No Lotus in Winter (2003), single channel video, 11’, ed. of 5
Four Appearances series – Water (2003), single channel video, 13’, ed. of 5
The “Four Appearances” series consist of short stories centered around basic elements such as fire, water and the lotus. The films appear in both color and black-and-white footage showing young people on the beach, in the countryside, and in a bamboo forest.

When Zhuge Liang Met Panda (2007), single channel video, 35’, ed. of 5
Shi Qing’s recent film project “When Zhuge Liang Meets Panda” (2007) is an installation that consists of multiple videos along with photographs, light boxes, and sculptures. Here, the artist investigates the old tales of the famous Chinese philosopher and politician Zhuge Liang as well as the age-old myths about the Panda, China’s favorite national symbol. He mixes these two narratives into his own idiosyncratic tale thereby creating a parallel world of imagination.


SONG TAO

From Last Century (2004), single channel video, 13’, ed. of 5
The repetitive structure gains strength in quantity and the shift from quantitative change to qualitative change. But in the works of Liang Yue and Song Tao, the form of repetition and monotony that they used is looks like the true-life copy.

Three Days Ago (2004), single channel video, 8’, ed. of 5
Song Tao’s film noir “Three Days Ago” (2005) is a poetic venture into the nighttime terrain of Shanghai. Along the way, the viewer glimpses certain recurring leitmotivs, such as a child playing hopscotch, a brightly lit highway tunnel and a haunting building. An electronic score that plays throughout lends the film a flowing rhythm all its own. The loop-like structure encourages the viewer to focus increasingly on the atmosphere rather than over-all narrative plot. The elliptical repetition also builds suspense that seems to accumulate towards the end. The dramatic scenes appear eternally; the urban nightly journey could take place anywhere, anytime. atmospheres – he is not concerned with staging grand truths.

Yard (2005), single channel video, 9’, ed. of 5
Song Tao and B6’s Yard comprises three interrelated elements: an electronic music soundtrack by B6, which was the starting point for the work; a projected video film (9’25” in duration) of digitally overlain and juxtaposed moving colour images made by Song Tao in response to B6’s music representing differing aspects of the urban environment in contemporary Shanghai, including nocturnal street scenes, B6 in a Moog t-shirt with headphones around his neck and finally a ballet dancer practicing in a dance studio tracked closely by a cameraman whose image is reflected by the studio’s mirrored wall; and a staged environment for the viewing of the work.


SUN XUN

Utopia in the Day (2004), single channel video animation, 4,41’, ed. of 6
“Utopia in the Day” presents a marionette theater – here, the characters are controlled by a puppet master in the character of a skeleton. Alas, death controls the living.

Magician’s Lie (2005), single channel video animation, 4’, ed. of 6
In ‘Magician’s Lie’ we see a single person covered in black paint while white tribal patterns continuously form various tattoos on his body.

A War About Chinese Words (2005), single channel video animation, 2’, ed. of 6
“A War About Chinese Words” is a black and white movie animation where Chinese characters morph and come alive as soldiers, animals and tanks. The characters enter into warfare and battle.

Shock of Time (2006), single channel video animation, 5,29’, ed. of 6
“Shock of Time” plays with our notion of time, narration, and history. As background material he uses old newspapers, books and other documentary material quoting different passages of the past.

Lie (2006), single channel video animation, 7’, ed. of 6
“Lie” is set in a space only inhabited by a character wearing a tall magician’s hat. The space is lit up from outside by the moon that shines through the barred window frames. Inside, the walls suddenly come to live, and strange creatures morph into bombs and bonfires.

Requiem (2007), single channel video animation, 7’, ed. of 6
“Requiem” is an apocalyptic story about a world in despair, streets are burning and giant mosquitos flying above the city as helicopters ready for attack.


SHI YONG

Think Carefully, Where Were You Yesterday (2007), multi-channel video installation
Shi Yong’s extensive video project “Think Carefully, Where Were You Yesterday” (2007 – ongoing) deals with the ‘politics of representation’: The videos have deep personal perspectives and consist of interviews conducted with minorities that seldom have a voice of their own in China’s public realm. Neglected and ignored identities such as AIDS victims, prostitutes, political activists, homosexuals and drug addicts are being thoroughly questioned about their existence, their desires and defeats. Contrasting the disturbing narratives of exclusion, the aesthetic and the visual language of the videos consist of calm b/w close-ups focusing on every little expression of the inter-viewees. The outcome is a touching non-judgmental documentation of marginalized realities in today’s China.


TANG MAOHONG

Sunday (2006), 5-channel animation video, 6’, ed. of 6
The video installation “Sunday” (2006) is full of witty grotesquerie. The pieces are composed within circular frames, thus referencing traditional Chinese bird and flower paintings. Upon closer inspection however, Tang Maohong’s various scenes of flowers, pagodas and mushrooms display an aesthetic that is as far removed from a traditional composed still leben as imaginable. Here, a surreal universe of people, animals and plants interact and converge in orgiastic and explicit scenes that carry a humorous legibility all their own.


XU ZHEN

Rainbow (1998), single channel video, 3,50’, ed. of 5
Xu Zhen started out making videos that focused on the body and public space in a manner reminiscent of early Bruce Nauman or Vito Acconci: For example, the four minute video “Rainbow” (1998) shows a person’s back growing increasingly red, the result of slaps heard on the sound track but never seen

Shouting (1998), single channel video, 4’, ed. of 5
Shouting II (2005), 8-channel video installation, 8’, ed. of 3
In “Shouting” (1998), a moving crowd faces away from the camera until, startled by screams behind them, they spin around (a reaction that elicits laughs from whomever is behind the camera).

From Inside the Body (1999), 3-channel video installation, 8’, ed. of 5
In “From Inside the Body” (1999) viewers sit before three video monitors in a room outfitted with a single couch: The central screen shows the same couch, empty; the left-hand screen shows a man, and the right-hand screen, a woman. While the middle image remains static, the man and the woman begin to sniff the air, as if suddenly aware of an aroma. They smell themselves, stripping off their clothes to locate the source of this intoxicating scent. Finally, in their underwear, they walk off camera only to reappear together on the central screen, where they sit on the couch and start to sniff each other. During the course of the video piece, an aroma is released in the room, as if inviting viewers to mimic the actions on-screen.

8.848 – 1, 86 (2006), single channel video installation, 8’, ed. of 5
His video installation “8.848-1.86” (2005) documents an expedition to Mount Everest. Here, Xu Zhen removed 1.86 meters of the mountain’s peak and transported it home to be exhibited in a large display cabinet. The video, among other allusions, is a subtle and humorous commentary on China’s policy of expansion.

18 Days (2006), single channel video installation, 23’, ed. of 5
“18 Days” records a trip that the artist underwent with the goal of crossing the borders of China’s neighboring countries with remote controlled toy weapons.

An Animal (2006), 3-channel video installation, ed. of 5
An Animal” (2006): This three-channel video installation shows a panda variously ejaculating (with the assistance of a group of men, faces digitally blurred) and sleeping.


YANG FUDONG
Single channel Video
After All, I Didn’t Force You (1998), single channel video, 2’, ed. of 5
“After All I Didn’t Force You” (1998), are implicitly a reaction to the forms of individualism in a developing modern mass society. Yang Fudong strings together takes with different characters so quickly one after the other that they “lose face.”

City Light (2001), single channel video, 6’, ed. of 10
“City Lights” (2001) is a mixture of the detective film and slapstick. A young, well-dressed office clerk and his doppelg？nger move in unison along the street and around the office. Like pre-programmed robots they fit perfectly into their apparently ideally organised environment. The day is entirely dominated by work, but the evening provides space for dreams and creative thinking, allowing a schizophrenic situation to arise. In their heroic conduct the two gentlemen sometimes develop into two gangsters who engage in a form of shadowboxing.

Robber South (2001), single channel video, 18’, ed. of 10
In a scene from “Robber South” (2001), which tells the story of a young man in the city making a living as a fruit seller while dreaming of becoming a businessman, the protagonist watches as a subway train pulls into a station, and in an instant the focus of his attention switches seamlessly to a deep blue sky. Compass in hand, he walks from house to house, tracing each door and wall with his fingers, a metaphor for his search for his own place in the city.

Backyard – Hey! Sun is Rising (2001), single channel video, 13’, ed. of 10
Four men engage in acts simultaneously. They smoke, yawn, massage themselves and practice military exercises in a city and in a park. The seriousness with which they perform these acts contrasts with their pointlessness, which creates the effect of slapstick. Yang Fudong reveals that because of social changes, certain rituals have become totally meaningless.

An Estranged Paradise (2002), single channel video, 76’, ed. of 10
For “An Estranged Paradise” (which took five years to edit), Yang Fudong yielded to his trademark fascination for crisp, moody, black-and-white 35mm cinematography. The film starts with a meditation on the composition of space in Chinese painting. It then nonchalantly wanders through the streets, railroad tracks, apartment buildings, waterfront and outskirts of the southern city of Hangzhou, following the protagonist's emotional vicissitudes. There are shades of Jim Jarmusch, of Godard's “Breathless” and allusions to 1930s Shanghai cinema. More importantly, Yang uses camera, lighting and cinematic space to outline the internal landscape of Chinese modernity.

Honey (2003), single channel video, 9’, ed. of 10
This video appears to be a humorous stylistic reference to spy films. All the clichés – tension, eroticism, grave, cigarette-smoking men and atmospheric music – are present. The woman wears fishnet hose and a fur coat with her military uniform. This ambiguity of deceit is not only the earmark of espionage, but possibly also a metaphor for the present ambivalent situation in China.

Siemens “S10” (2003), single channel video, 8’, ed. of 10
In “S10” (2003), two female office workers wearing uniforms covered in zippers, zip together their arms and various other parts of their bodies. At this point we have entered the realm of a modern-day Shan Hai Jing inhabited by "exaggerated" creatures, a realm that is at the same time a metaphorical expression of a new concept of "subject" that is in the process of evolving organically from the individual to the other, and to the group. If we are all interconnected, just how far does the territory of the "individual" extend?

Liu Lan (2003), single channel video, 14’, ed. of 10
Liu Lan tells a story about the break with tradition in China. An intellectual in a white suit meets a traditionally dressed woman in the countryside. Despite their mutual love, their lives seem incompatible. A woman’s voice sings a folksong, Why are people in love always separated from one another?’ The film’s atmosphere is melancholy and the landscape veiled in mist. Here Yang Fudong shows his connections with Chinese landscape painting.

Look Again (2004), single channel video, 3’, ed. of 10
Two young men wear the uniform of 70’s policemen - sometimes they look like runaway criminals. They want to escape reality which is impossible to cast off. They yearn for the bright sunshine life, expecting the time to be captured, to exchange for a calmness of the heart.

The Half Hitching Post (2005), single channel video, 7’, ed. of 10
A beautiful panoramic landscape sets the scene for the narrative of “The Half Hitching Post”. Here, we see only fragments of two stories taking place simultaneously: Two different couples are being witnesses in their attempt to ascend a mountain on a sloped and steep road. The viewer is left unaware of the couple’s ultimate goal as they compete on reaching their destination. Focusing on the journey up-wards the shifting perspective of the camera depicts the mutual hindrances engaged by the couples to sabotage their opponent’s success on reaching their ？nal destination. Juxtaposing the race towards the top with the tranquility of the surrounding landscape lends the video a poetic vibe all its own.


Multi-channel Video
I Love My Motherland (1999), 5-channel video installation, 12’, ed. of 5
In one of the short sequences comprising I Love My Motherland, a man performs a formless dance at an intersection. The picture is out of focus. Yang Fudong operates here, too, with the alienating possibilities of experi-mental ？lm, with short cuts and multiple exposures.

Tonight Moon (2000), multi-channel video installation, ed. of 3
In “Tonight Moon” (2000) expressionless men in suits amuse themselves by playing around in boats, swimming, and hiding behind trees in scenes set in a garden. The scenes appear to be daydreams. Yang says that he choose to create this affect after noticing the way people playing in gardens tend to give free rein to their imagination and enter their own fantasy world. The arched gateway represents the border between the real world and the other, enchanted land beyond. In the actual installation, a number of small monitors are embedded in a large screen onto which an image of the garden is projected, each depicting men swimming naked.


Su Xiaoxiao (2001), multi-channel video installation, 15’, ed. of 3
In “Su Xiaoxiao” Yang Fudong captures the poetic sentiment that arises in moments of individual encounter with the real world, and his own expression of the world inside him. His artistic practice engages in a temperamental dialogue with the traditional culture and literature of China. Yang Fudong constructs a potential platform for dialogue and negotiation between the self and external reality. In so doing, he does not propagate ？xed believes or dogmas. His work is based on process, on what he learns from ceaseless study, observation, and involvement with his social environment and the way it relates to the individual.


Flutter, Flutter … Jasmine, Jasmine (2002), 3-channel video installation, 18’, ed. of 3
The images in “Flutter, Flutter... Jasmine, Jasmine” are both an illustration of the words of the romantic song, and a commentary on it. We see a young man and woman in a large city, dreamily staring. Just like the song, they reflect hope, idealism and emotional purity. But the changes in the city proceed rapidly, and it is a question whether their ideals and feelings will remain untouched by this.

Jiaer’s Livestock (2002), 10-channel video installation, 14’, ed. of 3
In two separate spaces two almost identical cinematic narratives unfold. Because of the wall separating them, we cannot compare the two, and must call on our memory. Both spaces also contain a glass display cabinet with a suitcase full of books and neckties, and four small video monitors in it. The tangible objects and the monitors appear to connect with the large projections on the wall.

Close to the Sea (2004), 10-channel video installation, 23’, ed. of 3
The video installation “Close to the Sea” (2004) makes the viewer aware of the impossibility of watching all the projection screens simultaneously. Stories play out synchronously and asynchronously. The central projection screen shows two scenes alongside each other: a young couple riding a horse along the coast, and a couple who try to save themselves during a shipwreck. Here an initially idyllic world is disrupted; the strident sound of brass instruments reinforces the atmosphere of disharmony.

The Revival of the Snake (2005), 10-channel video installation, 8’, ed. of 3
“Revival of the Snake” (2005), a colour video of eight minutes duration, plays on ten large screens. Here the subject is incontestably human instinct and survival. The scene is a bright winter day with a clear sky. The ground seems to be deeply frozen and in parts sprinkled with dry snow. It is a desolate landscape. In this no-man’s-land everything seems to presage death. The protagonist is a young man, perhaps an ”intellectual”, who seems to be a victim ？ghting for survival. Once again, there is no story, no beginning, middle, or end. On some of the screens the young man seems to be wandering around, exploring the environment. On some of the other screens we see him dragging himself across the thick ice of a frozen lake. While, on other screens, he is seen blindfolded with hands tied behind his back.

No Snow on the Broken Bridge (2006), 8-channel video installation, 11’, ed. of 6
“No Snow on the Broken Bridge” (2006): a freeze-frame tableau in which seven young men and women, dressed in a haberdasher’s ？nest, look outward from a rocky outcrop; boats slowly drifting across placid waters; lush, unpopulated landscapes dominated by mountains. Like all of Yang Fudong’s work, the narrative is loosely structured, favoring centripetal forces over linear paths. Here, glamorous young men and women are slowly pulled together as, alone or in pairs and quartets, they wend their way toward the eponymous bridge to catch a last glimpse of winter snow; the rabbits, parrots, and stubborn goats on leashes that accompany them hint at the dandyish excess of a bygone era.

East of Que Village (2007), 6-channel video installation, 20’, ed. of 6
“East of Que Village” centres on an untamed and untethered pack of dogs, surviving at the most basic level of existence, in an arid, desolate, and unforgiving expanse of northern Chinese landscape. A handful of humans also appear, engaged in their own dogged battle for survival. The work questions the value of life in contemporary China, and the desires an individual has a right to expect from his or her existence. It is perhaps Fudong’s most personal film to date, drawing on the bitter and cold feelings that he associates with the rural China of his childhood, and which embody for him a sense of isolation and loss that is increasingly present within society.

Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest I-V (2003-2007), various running time, ed. of 7
Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest (2003-ongoing), a series intended to expand to ？ve sequels in total, is Yang Fudong’s attempt to develop a grand worldview in the form of an epic tale of a group of individuals defying the times in which they live. The title is borrowed from a popular legend of seven intellectuals who sought refuge from the chaos of the Warring States Period in a bamboo forest, where they indulged in serious talk unsullied by worldly matters. It is used as a metaphor for the resistance of the young Chinese who feel unable to keep up with the pace of change in China and, as a result, experience a kind of identity crisis. Showing no regard for normal social behavior, these intellectuals drank to excess, romped around naked, and composed re？ned verses that expressed their feelings of resentment towards the age in which they lived. The ？ve-part series focuses on seven young men and women in different settings, beginning with a mysterious mountain popular among Taoists, then proceeding to an urban setting, a rural setting with ？elds and paddies, and an island, before moving back to the city.



YANG ZHENZHONG

922 Rice Corns (2000), single channel video, 7’, ed. of 10
The video "922 Grains of Rice" plays with the interaction of the image of a cock and a chicken pecking grains of rice and the sound of a male and a female voice counting the number of pecked grains. It is a humorous representation of the battle of sexes as well a comment on today’s competitive behavior.

Light as Fuck (2001), single channel video, 6,21’, ed. of 10
Light and Easy II (2002), 1’, ed. of 10
“Light and Easy” (2002) and “Light as Fuck (2001) are based upon a conviction that the lightness of the isolated exterior or interior is a source of interesting material. He perceives the weight of urban changes as an exterior phenomenon, and literally depicts the process as a weightless factor, turning urban landmarks upside down.
Let’s Puff (2002), double channel video installation, 6,58’, ed. of 5
Let's Puff” (4th Shanghai Biennale, Zone of Urgency, 50th Venice Biennial) similarly starts from the interplay of two images: a young woman puffing and a busy street. Every time the woman breathes, the image of the street moves away from the viewer. The rhythm of the traffic and the angle of perception are altered with the rhythm of the woman's breath.

Spring Story (2003), single channel video, 12’, ed. of 10
In 2003 Yang Zhenzhong went to the Siemens factory just outside of Shanghai where some 1,500 hundred workers are busy assembling mobile phones for the entire planet. Yang asked each of the workers successively to say one word from the speech that was to lead their working there in the ？rst place, until all 1,500-odd words had been recited. He then painstakingly spliced their contributions together to recompose the entire speech. Though the resulting twelve-and-a-half minute ？lm has a manifestly critical dimension, its particular effectiveness stems from the fact that it does not formally oppose but rather reproduces the factory’s highly structured Taylorist production. Yang’s work truly does liberate the productive forces of critique, as it is one of these rare con？gurations that allow us a point of view on process of which it is
both the prism and the outcome.

I Will Die (2000-2006), multi-channel video installation, various running time, ed. of 5
Yang Zhengzhong became famous in 2000 with his half-hour video “(I Know) I Will Die” that features short sequences in which a series of people speak the phrase "I will die" to the camera. It was included as a multi-channel projection at the 2007 Venice Biennale to great acclaim. It is a disconcerting, soberly presented film that confronts the viewer with existential questions.

Na Xiong Na Er (2007), single channel video, 30’, ed. of 5


ZHAO BANDI

A Tale of Love Gone Wrong for Pandaman. A Court Case November 2003, And Also a Story about the End of a Love Story (2003), single channel video, 15’, ed. of 9
“A Tale of Love Gone Wrong for Pandaman,” is more than parody. In 2003, Zhao Bandi sued two media businesses for publishing his poster without acknowledging his copyright. During the hearing, Zhao Bandi sits, forlorn, with his Panda. At the end, he reads as evidence a letter from his ex-lover, in which she explains why she is leaving him. She describes Zhao Bandi’s relationship to the toy-panda as being sick, and denies that the SARS poster could have anything to do with his personality. Because of the letter (or despite it) Zhao Bandi wins the case. It’s reality that produces fiction that produces reality.
Zhao Bandi Fashion Show, Beijing 2007
ShanghART Night, Zhao Bandi Couture, Shanghai 2008
“Panda Fashion” (2007/2008) couture is the newest invention of Zhao Bandi. The videos document runway performances of models dressed in panda-inspired costumes embodying characters like a judge, a cop, a migrant worker, a corrupt official, a real estate developer and a sweeper.


ZHANG DING

PRY (2005-), multiple channel video installation, various running time, ed. of 1
In ”Pry” (2005-ongoing) Zhang Ding explores the relationship between the viewer and the viewed, superiority and inferiority, exploiter and exploited. This is done with rare sensitivity and non-judgmental loyalty towards featured destinies, all of which share a common denominator of difference. These differences are manifested sexually, religiously and politically, and often with severe consequences to the protagonists.

Great Era (2007), 14’, ed. of 10
Zhang Dings’s most recent film “Great Era” (2007) is a surrealistic Fellini-inspired voyage using Shanghai as its theatrical backdrop. The protagonist rides along staged tableaus with his bike (disguised as a horse) in scenes perfectly synchronized with the film’s sound score.


ZHOU TIEHAI

Will/We Must (1996), single channel video, 9’, ed. of 5
Zhou Tiehai’s film “Will/We Must” (1996) shows the artist’s vengeance and attitude towards the self-absorbed art market. The 10-minutes film is a witty critique of the Chinese art scene and its sucking up to foreign curators who, as medical doctors, examine and treat the Chinese artists as patients. His work’s power to amaze and provoke is the result of a host of strategies that mix antagonism with sincerity.