“We are not our own any more than what we possess is our own. We did not make ourselves, we cannot be supreme over ourselves. We are not our own masters.” ~ Aldous Huxley, A Brave New World
The notion of Chinese-ness has always been something of curious concern; the International District’s Chinatown, since the area started to experience gentrification in the early 2000’s due to overall demand for real estate development in the city, is grappling with this concern today, as the community comes to grips in maintaining its historical essence and reality. When mainland China became a global powerhouse, with its new development and economic growth, the same question resonated just the same: what does it take to be truly Chinese in an everchanging world – and to what extent can one remain so? Currently on display at the Asia Society Museum in New York is a fascinating exhibit entitled Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity, bringing forth this and other questions in a different light: a group of seven distinct artists, all born after 1976 and creatively spearheading their art “by the internet, bootleg DVDs, international brands and global art history.”
A classic arcade machine sits at the foot of the exhibition, UterusMan Game, 2014, by Shanghai-born artist Lu Yang. Created and programmed for use, the work explores gender, biology, neuroscience, religion and pop culture where, all the while, the player is “transported” to the 1980’s joystick gaming experience with contemporary Manga imagery in tow. Upon entering the main gallery, an installation entitled, How to be ‘Good Life’ 2019, by Mongolian artist Nabuqi, reads like a Richard Hamilton collage – very spatial and visually appealing in its approach. The scope of the work finds its way by the influence of Heidegger’s writings, philosophy, Pop Art, global mass marketing and the interaction between public and private environments.
The next work, Experimental Relationships, 2013/2021, by Shanghai-born artist Pixy Liao, focuses on the recent reversal of the “one-child” policy in China, placing women in a position to marry and reproduce at a young stage in their lives. One photograph, I Push You, 2021, shows the artist posing with her husband in a see-saw position, detailing the specifics of how power between the sexes can be assumed and shared without lowering the standard of their own gender and individuality.
Going through each work in the exhibition, I was amazed on the initiative each artist was taking in order to disassociate themselves from the traditional labeling of “Chinese artist”, they saw themselves as “global artists”, removing the everything nationalistic stuff with the modern here-and-now, where the utilitarian has been surpassed by the importance of global presence.
Noticing that the traditional may meet head on with the modern and futuristic, I became fixated with a set of paintings entitled Shanghai Broadcasting Building, 2018, and Western City Gate, Belgrade, 2020, both done by Shanghai-born Cui Jie, which reveres a kind of billboard advertising mistique, strong color, architectonic detail and stark graphic design – all presented in a way that visually captivates and astonishes anyone.
Visual artists sometimes seek inspiration from experiences beyond the norm, may it be organic, communal or spiritual. What came to mind was the video by Beijing artist Tianzshuo Chen, Trance, 2019. A panorama of dystopic-like proportions, this work, based on a 12-hour performance, is a study on the idea of endurance and meditation – reminiscent of Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies, with modern indicators of group activity (such as club, electronic and hip hop). Most interesting is its immediacy: most pulsating, grotesque, visually disruptive and frantic.
Another feast to the eyes was the photographic essay Similar Disguise Skills, 2021, by the Chongqing-born artist Tao Hui. In the stylized shape of Chinese TV drama reenactments, this work details studies in gender exploration, human relationships and the nuclear family, all presented in calm, atmospheric and meditative settings. Though the photographs may appear commercial to some, the details are quite extraordinary and otherworldly.
As is most know to everyone, importance is always front and center with everything social media and the internet. One work by Beijing-born Liu Shiyuan, For Jord (No 1), 2020, presents the random activity of the internet by placing photographic images next to each other, with no relationship or narrative toward each other, thus creating a sense of collusion within distinct cultures, aesthetics and political beliefs.
Lastly, I came to view Shanghai-born Miao Ying’s work Surplus Intelligence, 2021-22, as a project that was everywhere – the stark visuals representing the beauty of the absurd; dystopic scenarios, muddled landscapes and artificial intelligence at its most commonplace, giving the viewer a means of identifying China’s political propaganda as a subtle form of mass media manipulation.
In the end, as I sat and contemplate all the works seen in this exhibition, I was elated to have found such a great and unique display of unforbidden mystery, vast interpretation and elated freedom of artistic expression.
This exhibition, along with Visionary Legacies: A Tribute to Harold J. Newman, will both be on display until Dec 31 at The Asian Society Museum in New York City. https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/artist-talk-mirror-image-transformation-chinese-identity
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