Shanghai Biennale - Trans Local Motion

Posted by miel

November 24, 2008

It was over, I think the closure being on the 16th Nov 2008. The theme for this year was Trans Local Motion, something very urban, something about changes and moving on, very closely knitted to the city of Shanghai. It was rather impressive when you look in the perspective of how the various installations were brought to depict speed and change we are facing every day. Very little Oil Paintings this time. But still worth going to for a looka looka. One thing for sure, I am glad this time I can get some decent images for self keeping sake without worrying about how bad the image quality are.

Outside Shanghai Art Museum

Zhang Qing, Artistic Director for thie Biennale, said this for Liu Ye, “In modern Chinese art, Liu Ye is an artist known for his flamboyant youthfulness. He uses his bold images to paint a portrait of China’s new fairy tales. His Missing tells a story from his family life. “There were a few pieces of old luggage in our house, and my mother said they were left behind by my grandparents. My grandfather she said, did business in Shanghai when he was young, and he met my grandma on one of his business trips. My grandfather traveled back and forth between the two cities for two years, first because of his business, and second to see the love of his life. Sometimes my grandmother would travel to Beiping to see him. She was very beautiful and fashionable in her youth, and her luggage was always filled with pretty clothes and fashion accessories. I never met my grandfather, as he died at a very young age. My memories of my grandmother are not so clear either. Sometimes I travel to Shanghai, and see those old houses and streets, I suddenly think of my grandparents, and can practically envision them strolling down Shanghai’s boulevards.” This is the story of travel between Beijing and Shanghai that Liu Ye’s family left behind. ”

And on one of these T-Shirts, something like “American Dream, Day Dream(美国梦白日梦)was written on it.

And of course, the ever happy installations of Yue Minjun in the exhibition. This time, he became the T-REX Jun, I guess there must be some hidden meaning but he sure looks good being the monster there!

I think I spent the most time on his sculptures than anywhere else!

Su Xinping, Cheers.

Another faourite of mine is the Digital Artist called Chen Yun. A little about him and his work by the Shanghai Biennale Curators: “The Moving Spirit of the City︱digital painting︱ø 80 cm︱2008
Born in the 1980s, Chen Yun is an emerging Chinese artist. With her wild imagination, she successfully depicts networks of migrants through cities in her work, The Moving Spirit of the City. She compares the city to a fermenting organic body-a maternal body, which presents relentless challenges to the human body and soul. The city is the aggregation of desires, and has a mystical allure that seduces the inflow of more people inebriated with the dream of realizing some extraordinary ideal. As it assimilates these migrants and visitors, the city grows and expands with the energy of its new denizens, creating a magnificent and lively scene. Because of the powerful allure of cities, many people move from one urban locale to another, their own identities redrawn constantly as they seek fulfillment of their dreams and ideals. ”

The above installations is actually so small that its maybe the size of a HDB toilet, Standing at 1.7metres long and 1 metre wide maybe, a family of four squeezes into this tiny space. This installation is a virtual mark up of how many constructions workers are living their lives out of their home provinces, Inside this small quaters, they cook they sleep they watch television and listen to radio.

And this installation is a make up installation of how a living space was like for a Korean couple many decades ago here in Shanghai. On top of all the furniture, a thick coat of sugar was layered. It wanted to show a ever lasting, sweetness and dream like feeling for people who stayed and enjoyed being in Shanghai.

Cannot remember much since it was like in September when I visited these exhibition. I hope this photos will be useful for some who are looking for pictures in relation to the Biennale.

*oh yuh, I think one Singaporean also participated in the exhibition.
Charles Lim Yi Yong （Singapore）The Sea Stories Sea State 1: inside outside
Charles Lim likes to ride his sailboat in an area close to the national marine borderline. In his work entitled The Sea Stories Sea State 1: inside outside, he collects one hundred sets of pictures of light houses, with pictures of each taken from two angles to record boats sailing across the boundary line. From different angles, viewers can see above and beneath the surface of the sea. These pictures are arranged in such a way that the position of the light houses appear to be continuously extending forward. Is it the case that the people are moving, or is the ocean moving? In the eyes of an artist who is also a veteran sailor, is there only art here?