Global Times 1130 p7
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Tuesday November 30, 2010 7 CULTURE By Zhang Cao I ndia was called the West Heaven by the Chinese in Han Dynasty (206BC– 220AD), the period when Bud- dhism first began making its indelible mark upon the Middle Kingdom. Over the centuries the relationship between India and China has changed and today, although India is geographically close to China, in some ways it is further away than ever before. Chinese are aware of India’s rich history, but are not so familiar with its modern culture. Trying to encourage a closer understanding of India through contemporary art and develop a cross-cultural dialogue is the ex- hibition West Heaven: Place Time Play. Staged at two venues in the city, the exhibition of contempo- rary installations, paintings and videos showcases 12 Indian artists and five Chinese artists. The Indian art- ists were asked to treat China as a laboratory to test Indian ideas and experi- ences. They were asked to create these works only for China. Many of the works are cynical and satirical of both countries. Liu Dahong, a Chinese artist, created three oil canvas works after he visited India in the summer. He continues to work every day on the third painting at the exhibition venue in the Union Church at 79 Suzhou Road South. His trio of works, Traveling World, picture the various societies of Russia, India and China, each containing cultural references and landmarks with elements of the others included. Above each of these works hangs a tri- angular figure which the artist has includ- ed as a metaphysical or spiritual element representing the nation. On the top of the Russian painting, Liu has portrayed Leo Tolstoy; on the Indian work, there is the great writer Rabin- dranath Tagore. But over the China painting there is no famous figure – just the image of a pregnant woman. “There is no spiri- tual leader in our nation whose works or ideas have been inherited and are still being worshiped and used,” Liu said. The Indian artist Gigi Scaria, 37, has created a video work No Parallel which screens two videos. One shows a series of black-and-white photographs of Gandhi, and the other pictures Mao Zedong. The two major figures are seen lecturing, meeting children and nurses, marching, work- ing, talking with religious leaders and appearing on money. The themes, attitudes and gestures are similar but Mao’s pictures arrive on the screen three seconds after Gandhi’s. The artist seems to be using the historical narratives and the personalities of the two leaders who dedicated their lives to creating modern India and modern China, to outline the similarities and the differences. Placing these historical icons next to each other highlights the way they were seen by the people of their countries but remained in polarity to each other. Another Chinese artist, Hu Xiangcheng, uses food to satirize the economic growth of China and India. He has made some of the iconic buildings of India and China (look out for Shanghai’s Pearl Tower) out of a dough of flour and sug- ar, and arranged these in two sus- pended baskets. Underneath these baskets hundreds of miniature face- less figures, made from a brown dough, run away en masse. “The modern histories of China and India could be de- scribed as a history of reaction to Western stimuli. But local conditions, including gigantic populations, limited resources of water, land and so on, show that maybe the Western approaches to modernization are unfeasible. Economic development is fragile,” Hu said. At the heart of the installation Twin Souls by Indian artist Hema Upadhyay, chirp 40 battery-powered toy birds, all made in China. Using the metaphor of caged and crazed birds, she seeks to make a statement about the dark side of displacement. The birds are trapped and will never arrive at their hometowns. Although the birds individually seem normal, the atmosphere of the cage is one of desperation and violence. “For more than a century, challenges of imperialism and capitalism have forced India and China to develop political strat- egies that have profoundly transformed both societies. To share this experience is valuable for Indians and Chinese alike,” said Chang Tsong-Zung, the curator of the exhibition and director of the Hanart T Z Gallery in Hong Kong. “It is critical to remind ourselves that in our imagination of the world there is not just the West, but also the ‘West Heavens’.” Date: Until De- cember 20, 10 am to 7 pm Venue: Union Church Address: 79 Su- zhou Road South 南苏州路79号 Sub-venue: Novel Plaza 永新广场 Address: 128 Nan- jing Road West 南京西路128号 Admission: Free Call 6327-2829 for details Got an event everyone needs to know about? Contact us at whatsonshanghai@global- times.com.cn What’sOn Exhibitions Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Obsessive compulsive disorder is a psychiatric illness and the title of this exhibition by 12 Chinese artists and one Belgian artist. The title is a metaphor for artists who create works according to their instincts and personal feelings, but not for the public. Date: Until December 12, 10 am to 6 pm (Tuesday to Friday), mid- day to 6 pm (Saturday to Sunday) Venue: DDM Warehouse 东大名创库 Address: 3/F, 713 Dongdaming Road, 东大名路713号3楼 Admission: Free Call 135-8573-0808 for details The Shanghai Biennale The Shanghai Art Museum is hosting the 8th Shanghai Biennale of Contemporary Art. The thought- provoking exhibitions are staged over several months and are accompanied by a symposium of talks and conferences with leading art critics and curators. This year the theme is Rehearsal. Date: Until January 23, 2011, 9 am to 4 pm Venue: Shanghai Art Museum 上海美术馆 Address: 325 Nanjing Road West 南京西路325号 Admission: 20 yuan, 5 yuan for students Call 6327-2829 ext 257 for details Event Seal DIY Learn Chinese traditional carving skills and make a seal of your own name. Teachers, bluestone and tools will be on hand for beginners to practice this ancient art, com- bining calligraphy and carving. Date: December 5, 1:30 pm Venue: Salon Des Arts 东篱文艺沙龙 Address: No.1, Lane 1363 Fuxing Road Middle 复兴中路1363弄1号 Admission: 100 yuan Call 6433-0552 for details Lecture Ashis Nandy: Creativity, Freedom and the Politics of Cosmopolitan is the fourth lecture for the India- China Summit on Social Thought. Author Ashis Nandy began his career as a sociologist and clinical psychologist. He is a member of the Global Scientific Committee for Higher Education (UNESCO). Date: December 4, 10 am Venue: Shanghai Art Museum 上海美术馆 Address: 325 Nanjing Road West 南京西路325号 Admission: Free Call 6327-2829 for details Send your story ideas, press releases, review copies and invitations to editor-sh@ globaltimes.com.cn or call 61363436 HEAVENS ABOVE! IT’S FROM INDIA Unique exhibition explores cultural understanding through art One piece from Traveling World by Liu Dahong. CITY: Memory, Dream, Desire, Statues and Ghost; Return of Hiuen Tsang by the noted artist Gulammohammed Sheikh. Untitled by Hu Xiangcheng. Photos: Courtesy of Hanart T Z Gallery
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Transcript of Global Times 1130 p7
Tuesday November 30, 2010 7
CULTUREBy Zhang Cao
India was called the West Heaven by the Chinese in Han Dynasty (206BC–
220AD), the period when Bud-dhism first began making its indelible mark upon the Middle Kingdom.
Over the centuries the relationship between India and China has changed and today, although India is geographically close to China, in some ways it is further away than ever before. Chinese are aware of India’s rich history, but are not so familiar with its modern culture.
Trying to encourage a closer understanding of India through contemporary art and develop a cross-cultural dialogue is the ex-hibition West Heaven: Place Time Play. Staged at two venues in the city, the exhibition of contempo-rary installations, paintings and videos showcases 12 Indian artists and five Chinese artists. The Indian art-ists were asked to treat China as a laboratory to test Indian ideas and experi-ences. They were asked to create these works only for China.
Many of the works are cynical and satirical of both countries. Liu Dahong, a Chinese artist, created three oil canvas works after he visited India in the summer. He continues to work every day on the third painting at the exhibition venue in the Union Church at 79 Suzhou Road South. His trio of works, Traveling World, picture the various societies of Russia, India and China, each containing cultural references and landmarks with elements of the others included.
Above each of these works hangs a tri-angular figure which the artist has includ-ed as a metaphysical or spiritual element representing the nation. On the top of the Russian painting, Liu has portrayed Leo Tolstoy; on the Indian work, there is the great writer Rabin-dranath Tagore. But over the China painting there is no famous figure – just the image of a pregnant woman. “There is no spiri-tual leader in our nation whose works or ideas have been inherited and are still being worshiped and used,” Liu said.
The Indian artist Gigi Scaria, 37, has created a video work No Parallel which screens
two videos. One shows a series of black-and-white photographs of
Gandhi, and the other pictures Mao Zedong. The two major
figures are seen lecturing, meeting children and nurses, marching, work-ing, talking with religious leaders and appearing on money. The themes, attitudes and gestures are similar but Mao’s pictures arrive on the screen three seconds after Gandhi’s.
The artist seems to be using the historical narratives and the personalities of the two leaders who dedicated their lives to creating modern India and modern China, to outline the similarities and the differences. Placing these historical icons next to each other highlights the way they were seen by the people of their
countries but remained in polarity to each other.
Another Chinese artist, Hu Xiangcheng, uses food to satirize the economic growth of China and India. He has made some of the iconic buildings of India and China (look out for Shanghai’s
Pearl Tower) out of a dough of flour and sug-ar, and arranged these in two sus-pended baskets. Underneath these baskets hundreds of miniature face-less figures, made from a brown dough, run away en masse.
“The modern
histories of China and India could be de-scribed as a history of reaction to Western stimuli. But local conditions, including gigantic populations, limited resources of water, land and so on, show that maybe the Western approaches to modernization are unfeasible. Economic development is fragile,” Hu said.
At the heart of the installation Twin Souls by Indian artist Hema Upadhyay, chirp 40 battery-powered toy birds, all made in China. Using the metaphor of caged and crazed birds, she seeks to make a statement about the dark side of displacement. The birds are trapped and will never arrive at their hometowns. Although the birds individually seem normal, the atmosphere of the cage is one of desperation and violence.
“For more than a century, challenges of imperialism and capitalism have forced India and China to develop political strat-egies that have profoundly transformed both societies. To share this experience is valuable for Indians and Chinese alike,” said Chang Tsong-Zung, the curator of the exhibition and director of the Hanart T Z Gallery in Hong Kong. “It is critical to remind ourselves that in our imagination of the world there is not just the West, but also the ‘West Heavens’.”
Date: Until De-cember 20, 10 am
to 7 pmVenue: Union ChurchAddress: 79 Su-zhou Road South 南苏州路79号Sub-venue: Novel Plaza 永新广场Address: 128 Nan-jing Road West南京西路128号Admission: Free
Call 6327-2829 for details
Got an event everyone needs to know about?Contact us at [email protected]
What’sOnExhibitions
Obsessive Compulsive DisorderObsessive compulsive disorder is a psychiatric illness and the title of this exhibition by 12 Chinese artists and one Belgian artist. The title is a metaphor for artists who create works according to their instincts and personal feelings, but not for the public. Date: Until December 12, 10 am to 6 pm (Tuesday to Friday), mid-day to 6 pm (Saturday to Sunday)Venue: DDM Warehouse 东大名创库 Address: 3/F, 713 Dongdaming Road, 东大名路713号3楼Admission: Free Call 135-8573-0808 for details
The Shanghai BiennaleThe Shanghai Art Museum is hosting the 8th Shanghai Biennale of Contemporary Art. The thought-provoking exhibitions are staged over several months and are accompanied by a symposium of talks and conferences with leading art critics and curators. This year the theme is Rehearsal. Date: Until January 23, 2011, 9 am to 4 pm Venue: Shanghai Art Museum 上海美术馆 Address: 325 Nanjing Road West 南京西路325号Admission: 20 yuan, 5 yuan for studentsCall 6327-2829 ext 257 for details
EventSeal DIYLearn Chinese traditional carving skills and make a seal of your own name. Teachers, bluestone and tools will be on hand for beginners to practice this ancient art, com-bining calligraphy and carving. Date: December 5, 1:30 pm Venue: Salon Des Arts 东篱文艺沙龙Address: No.1, Lane 1363 Fuxing Road Middle 复兴中路1363弄1号Admission: 100 yuanCall 6433-0552 for details
LectureAshis Nandy: Creativity, Freedom and the Politics of Cosmopolitanis the fourth lecture for the India-China Summit on Social Thought. Author Ashis Nandy began his career as a sociologist and clinical psychologist. He is a member of the Global Scientific Committee for Higher Education (UNESCO). Date: December 4, 10 am Venue: Shanghai Art Museum 上海美术馆Address: 325 Nanjing Road West 南京西路325号Admission: FreeCall 6327-2829 for details
Send your story ideas, press releases, review copies and invitations to [email protected] or call 61363436
HEAVENS ABOVE! IT’S FROM INDIA
Unique exhibition explores cultural understanding through art
One piece from Traveling World by Liu Dahong.
CITY: Memory, Dream, Desire, Statues and Ghost; Return of Hiuen Tsang by the noted artist Gulammohammed Sheikh.
Untitled by Hu Xiangcheng. Photos: Courtesy of Hanart T Z Gallery
