Contemporaneous
Chen Shaoxiong & Qiu Anxiong
5 April - 15 June 2008
Preview Friday 4 April 6 - 8pm
Exhibition Tour 5.30pm
Chen Shaoxiong, stills from The Days, ink animation, 4', 2007
Contemporaneous presents the experimental and innovative approach to ink painting of Mainland Chinese artists Chen Shaoxiong and Qiu Anxiong. Chinese ink painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world and is still widely practised today. Combining this traditional art form with the video and installation, Chen Shaoxiong and Qiu Anxiong create ink animations exploring their individual experiences and concerns living in China today.
Chen Shaoxiong's animations present a deeply individual portrait of the contemporary urban experience in China. Rapidly excecuted ink paintings highlighting the details of daily life come together to form a personal journey through the densely populated, rapidly changing city. For Contemporaneous, Chen will be showing a four screen installation animation which draws attention to the immediate, transitory impressions which make up city life.
Shanghai based artist Qiu Anxiong's ink animation The New Book of the Mountains and Seas uses a popular Chinese myth to illustrate concerns over the abuse of the world's natural resources. The work is based on the ancient Chinese text Classics of the Mountains and Seas, a fanciful quasi-geography book describing people, places and animals as well as mythical creatures to present a complete world view. In Qiu's modern interpretation, monsters born out of aspects of modern life play out man's destruction of the environment, from the beginnings of civilisation to an apocalyptic vision of the consequences of rampant commercialism. A popular and critically acclaimed highlight of the Shanghai Biennale 2006, this powerful, stunningly painted animation will be shown by a large scale high definition projection.
Contemporaneous is programmed as part of Asia Triennial Manchester 08, the UK's first Asian art triennial. Opening 5 April - 1 June 2008, ATM08 will show innovative works which represent the very best of contemporary Asian visual arts. Visit asiatriennialmanchester.com for more information.
