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Everyday tales of dancing soldiers
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Go to any city in China and you’re sure to see street corner vendors selling battery-operated toy soldier figures that crawl along the sidewalk, stopping only to fire their rifle.
Swiss artists Stefan Baltensperger and David Siepert bought one of these familiar toys and discovered that if the figure was placed in a standing position his movement took on a completely different meaning.
Placed horizontally, a twisting motion at his waist propels the toy soldier along; placed vertically the same twisting motion makes him look as though he is dancing, before pausing to shoot his gun skyward, as though in celebration.
The sinister sniper skulking along the ground is transformed into an exuberant, joyful dancer.
Inspired by this change of perspective, the duo made a video of the toy soldier dancing along to Abba’s “Dancing Queen.”
It starts with a single dancing figure; then there’s three; then a line of them, and eventually serried ranks of the figures, twisting their hips in a figure 8 in sync and saluting with guns.
“We thought that it was strange to have a soldier shooting as a children’s toy, so we’ve changed it into something more playful,” says Siepert.
The artist is convinced that small gestures like this can cumulatively bring positive change.
“If everyone tries to change the world a bit, it will become a better place,” insists Siepert.
The “Dancing Queen” video is among works by Baltensperger and Siepert featuring in a new exhibition at Inna’s Contemporary Art Space in Hangzhou that opens tomorrow and also features works by Swiss artist Bignia Wehrli and Chinese artist Liao Wenfeng.
The exhibition is a result of a residence program “A Very Hot Pot” featuring the four artists in Hangzhou this month. Its name came about because the four become friends over a Chinese hotpot and because “they influence each other and sublimate each other,” creating a hotpot of styles and inspiration, says curator Li Shengzhao.
Political and sociological meaning informs Baltensperger and Siepert’s work. Also in the exhibition is their “Imaginary Landscape,” a series of photographs of national borders. However, all the frontier fences have cut been from photos, leaving only landscapes.
Some of the photographs have been cut into several pieces since the border fences have been “moved.” The artists stick them back into one, so that two beaches may become a single beach and hills are connected.
Wehrli and Liao are a couple but work separately. Some of Wehrli’s work on show focuses on trails in nature and astronomy.
Her work in the exhibition will include photographs of star trails that map a route taken by her father over a series of days when he was walking in the mountains. She used GPS to track his route and transferred it onto a star path through a camera following his route while photographing the night sky using a long exposure.
“The GPS route records the connection between the man and the land, and the photo shows the connection between the land and the sky,” says Wehrli.
In another work a negative film is sealed in a round pencil sharpener. Some light still leaks in through the hole for the pencil tip, creating a pinhole camera. And when a pencil is sharpened, some shavings fall onto the film, leaving their images on the exposed film.
Photographs developed from this seems like “an explosion in a micro cosmos,” says the artist.
Liao, whose work is renowned for its novel observations, is exhibiting drawings, photographs and video.
In one drawing two doves fight in front of a rainbow flag; in another a pair of glasses are poked by fingers from opposite direction.
His videos seem simple but are infused with meaning. “To Drink the Sun” shows a glass of water reflecting dazzling sunshine, but the sunshine disappears when the water is drunk.
“I love to pay attention to detail,” says Liao.
“And with simple methods I hope to inspire people to rethink our world.”
“The artists make works about daily life,” says curator Li. “Daily life is very much a routine and art helps people to rethink it without being bound by stereotypes.”
The exhibition will run to May 15. The four artists will be present at the opening ceremony tomorrow at 3pm.
Date: Tomorrow-May 15
Address: No. 12 Building, Dongxin Creative Zone, 139 Liuhe Rd
Admission: Free
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