Showcasing a wide cross-section of the very best of contemporary Chinese Art, CHINA ART NOW was a cutting edge national exhibition trail featuring both new and established artists from across China.
The art trail aimed to challenge perceptions about China and facilitate debate around ideas of national identity by positioning new Chinese art in both conventional and unusual locations across the UK.
CHINA ART NOW linked regional museums across the UK with works by Cao Fei, He An, Xu Bing, Zang Wang, Tsang Kin Wah, Chen Shaoxing and Qiu Anxiong.
A trail map was produced linking all artworks throughout the UK
Key highlights
MY CHINA NOW, a commissioned series of short films curated by Karen Smith
The short film commissions will consist of up to 30 three to nine minute short films featuring both upcoming and established Chinese film makers and artists.
The short films will be produced by Chinese students under the guidance of leading film directors and video artists such as Jia Zhangke, Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Yuan and from creative figures in the film world including actress/director Xu Jinglei, singer/artist Ai Jing and music impresario Shen Luihi.
The series of short films explore the concept of what CHINA NOW means to young people. Major figures from the contemporary art world such as Shi Qing, Wu Ershan, Wang Bo and Ou Ning will also participate.
Sound installations at the Southbank Centre and guided headphone trails across the country
This is an installation of environmental sounds and sound pieces from China by young Chinese artists who are bringing the sounds of contemporary China to the UK.
Featuring works by three Chinese sound artists, Zhong Minjie, Yan Jun and Wang Changcun, the soundscapes aim to transport the listener from the UK into the streets, shops, bars and workplaces of modern China. These sounds will be installed in the ballroom in the Southbank Centre, London.
Headphone trails will be installed at a number of locations throughout the country. Using their own personal MP3 player, participants will start the trail in a museum where they will hire a set of headphones. A map is then used to guide the listener on a trail through their local area. As he walks past a local school playground, the sound he experiences will be of a school yard in China.
Neon Signs by artist He An
Signs will be installed on iconic UK buildings which are a personal reflection by the artist, commenting on the impressions young Chinese people have of the UK.
Chinese Sculptures by Sui Jianguo and Zhan Wang at the British Museum and RHS Wisley
Sui Jianguo's Mao Suit makes direct reference to the government approved clothing introduced by Mao Tse Tung after the Cultural Revolution in China. Often taking the form of the jacket itself, the works are fabricated from solid, heavy materials and present the clothing as both an icon of cultural revolution and freedom as well as a symbol of restriction and limitation.
Zhan Wang's works are huge stainless steel sculptures of ‘Scholars Rocks', graceful, craggy boulders found in several provinces around China. The rocks seem to have been sculpted by natural forces into complex forms worthy of thoughtful contemplation, almost like mental or spiritual landscapes.
RMB Virtual City video art installation by Cao Fei
Cao Fei has constructed her own miniature version of China in a piece named after China's local currency. RMB Virtual City creates a social structure that develops an ideal society within the parameters of the online virtual reality world Second Life.
Sightseeing - the shifting landscape of China
An exhibition of photography, performance art and sculpture reflecting the changes in China in the run up to the Olympic Games, featuring work by artists including Shen Shaomin, Lu Hao and Jiang Zhi and the creation of four site-specific installations on buildings across London.
