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Young artists out to ask questions of their audience
By Xu Wenwen and Wu Huixin |
November 28, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A large plait hangs in space; a blue wool sweater is unraveled, one end of the yarn raised by a balloon, the other leads to a small hopping bird; paintings are rolled like tissue and called "Just Take It" …
Installation art is frequently challenging, and some of the most innovative works often come from students and recent graduates who offer fresh insights.
An exhibition entitled "Question Time" opened this week at Sanshang Contemporary Art Gallery in Hangzhou, featuring 20 young artists' installations and paintings. Running until next month, more than half the artists featured are students of China Academy of Art, while the remainder are its graduates.
"All the exhibits have been created recently," says curator Song Zhenxi. "We had a brainstorm among artists so they could provide keywords for each other to create their artworks - hence the 'Question Time' title."
Protecting the environment is a theme running through many works.
For example, the blue unstitched woollen jumper, at the shoulder its yarn hitched to a hydrogen balloon, and at the bottom tied to a bird's feet. The balloon symbolizes forces unraveling the garment, taking it to the sky, while the bird brings it back to nature, says the installation's creator, Li Shengzhao.
"People consume too much material, and hopefully I can warn them with the work," explains Li.
Continuing the theme, a piece entitled "Prelude of Doomsday" features a butterfly embedded in a crystal skull that is covered in a gas mask.
And the "Just Take It" work, features paintings of insects on sheets of tissue paper and tissues in a box. Visitors are invited to help themselves to a tissue which is also a painting.
Works also reveal artists' thoughts based on daily experiences. Wang Kewei's work "Picking Up Money" consists of photographs, videos and short poems that record how he picked up money at different places in the country.
Song Gewen's "Out of Body" features the large plait with hair pins stuck in. At the one end of the plait is a brain-shape stone; at the other, a long needle suspended from the plait directs the gaze to a mirror on the floor.
Song says the plait is like a person's thoughts; they travel from the brain and after undergoing twists and turns arrive at the mirror, which symbolize "figuring out."
"Mostly students exhibit their works in campus, so having an exhibition out of campus can really encourage them," says Guan Huaibin, the deputy dean of cross-media college of China Academy of Art.
"Also, the exhibition is a result of interaction among those young people," adds Guan.
Date: Through December 9, 10am-5pm
Address: 52-2 Yan'an Rd S.
Tel: (0571) 8782-5611
Installation art is frequently challenging, and some of the most innovative works often come from students and recent graduates who offer fresh insights.
An exhibition entitled "Question Time" opened this week at Sanshang Contemporary Art Gallery in Hangzhou, featuring 20 young artists' installations and paintings. Running until next month, more than half the artists featured are students of China Academy of Art, while the remainder are its graduates.
"All the exhibits have been created recently," says curator Song Zhenxi. "We had a brainstorm among artists so they could provide keywords for each other to create their artworks - hence the 'Question Time' title."
Protecting the environment is a theme running through many works.
For example, the blue unstitched woollen jumper, at the shoulder its yarn hitched to a hydrogen balloon, and at the bottom tied to a bird's feet. The balloon symbolizes forces unraveling the garment, taking it to the sky, while the bird brings it back to nature, says the installation's creator, Li Shengzhao.
"People consume too much material, and hopefully I can warn them with the work," explains Li.
Continuing the theme, a piece entitled "Prelude of Doomsday" features a butterfly embedded in a crystal skull that is covered in a gas mask.
And the "Just Take It" work, features paintings of insects on sheets of tissue paper and tissues in a box. Visitors are invited to help themselves to a tissue which is also a painting.
Works also reveal artists' thoughts based on daily experiences. Wang Kewei's work "Picking Up Money" consists of photographs, videos and short poems that record how he picked up money at different places in the country.
Song Gewen's "Out of Body" features the large plait with hair pins stuck in. At the one end of the plait is a brain-shape stone; at the other, a long needle suspended from the plait directs the gaze to a mirror on the floor.
Song says the plait is like a person's thoughts; they travel from the brain and after undergoing twists and turns arrive at the mirror, which symbolize "figuring out."
"Mostly students exhibit their works in campus, so having an exhibition out of campus can really encourage them," says Guan Huaibin, the deputy dean of cross-media college of China Academy of Art.
"Also, the exhibition is a result of interaction among those young people," adds Guan.
Date: Through December 9, 10am-5pm
Address: 52-2 Yan'an Rd S.
Tel: (0571) 8782-5611
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