A new exhibition at the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai will feature artwork about 11 cities and regions across Asia.
A new exhibition at the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai will feature artwork about 11 cities and regions across Asia.
A fair number of migrant workers live on Suzhou Creek. They live on boats and transport building materials such as concrete and sand to make a living. A Chinese artist, and two from New Zealand, say they are fascinated with their lives. Their work features five video clips of these people after spending two years with the community on Suzhou Creek.
“For some of the people we talked to, their choice to work in the industry that they work in involves the identification with maybe the recent past in China, as opposed to the present,” said Jim Speeis, field recording team.
“So they don’t have a life that is as involved in consumption that happens here and happens where we come from. Sometimes the things, their references, are older. If they’ve been on the boat for 20 years, working on the boat, then the music they are listening to is from 20 years ago.
“So we found that very interesting. But also they have a way of telling stories that tells us something about the cultures that they come from.”
A new exhibition at the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai will feature artwork about 11 cities and regions across Asia.
The videos are among 11 works on display at the exhibition named “Tell Me a Story: Locality and Narrative.” Other works include photos and installations by artists from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. Each shares a story about a distinct subculture.
“You can see locality as a reflection of the process of globalization, which accelerates the trend of homogenization of cultures and lifestyles. However, we want to go back to the local level, to explore the different cultures and histories that exist,'” said Hsieh Feng-Rong, curator.
The exhibition at the Rockbund Art Museum runs until August 14. Free tours are offered every Saturday.
