Edgy China works
Catch the China-banned Ai Weiwei work Untitled among other controversial Chinese artists in Beyond Stuff, reports RACHEL LOI
AN art installation made up of stools and sunflower seeds might not send a political message; until combined with government intervention, that is.
That's exactly what happened to Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's untitled installation work at the Chinese Contemporary Art Award (CCAA) ceremony in April this year.
It started out as an innocent piece about the history and growth of the Chinese contemporary art scene, but that changed just one day before the ceremony. Chinese government officials showed up at the exhibition venue and forced the removal of the artist's work, as well as any mention of his name, from the entire exhibition.
Singaporeans will soon be able to see what the fuss was all about when the China-banned work comes to the Mizuma Gallery at Gilman Barracks later this month.
It will be part of a group exhibition titled Beyond Stuff, alongside some of Ai's other works, as well as the works of four other Chinese contemporary artists - He Yunchang, Li Mingzhu, Xia Xing, and Zhao Zhao.
Most of the art works will be on sale, and are priced between S$13,000 and S$350,000. Says the gallery's director Sueo Mizuma: "This is the first time the public can see (Ai's) Untitled work, although now the meaning of it is already changed. The thing is, even though it was originally not political, it is now because they shut him down based on his past records. That makes the work very political."
He goes on to explain that while not every single one of Ai's works are critical of the Chinese government, the ones that are, have earned him a reputation as a political activist. One example is an artwork that Ai created in response to how thousands of children were killed by the collapse of schools after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
"The artist made a commentary to say the government was supposed to pay attention to how the buildings were built, so the children wouldn't have died," says Mr Mizuma. "The government took it quite seriously because they didn't like Ai Weiwei making such a public commentary on them."
The other four artists taking part in the same exhibition are also controversial in their own ways, according to Mr Mizuma.
He, for example, is a Chinese performance artist, whose work, One Meter of Democracy, involved a doctor cutting a metre-long line on his body - from his shoulder down past his knee - without any anaesthetic.
When asked why he selected these controversial artists for his exhibition, Mr Mizuma explains, "My gallery may be a commercial gallery, but sometimes we want an exhibition with a strong message, to show the artist's mind and soul. Plus, these are major artists and I feel they are important, so I wanted to introduce them to people."
Beyond Stuff runs at the Mizuma Gallery on 22 Lock Road from Aug 29 to Oct 5. Opening hours are from Tue to Sat, 11am to 7pm, and on Sun 11am to 6pm. Admission is free. Log on to www.mizuma.sg or call 6570 2505 for more information
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