The subtitle of the text "Alternative Thinking in Alternative Situations" draws reference from a recent Apexart, (a privately funded
alternative art space in Tribeca, New York City), publication project of the
same title. The text grapples with the issues and challenges facing
alternative spaces today, including changes in strategies of survival. I was
invited to contribute the text, reflecting on the status of alternative spaces
in China, and in the region. - Biljana Ciric. Pekin Fine Art promotes their artists with a Gallery Portfolio at absolutearts.com.
It was very difficult to draw a parallel between
the meaning of what constitutes the "alternative" in the Western world and
its current role in China. It was concluded that we are unable to discuss the
"alternative' in the same way when speaking of China, an environment in
which artists work and lives are "alternative" by definition. Therefore,
the concept of "alternative" in these respects involves the actual living
conditions and cultural history and present environment in which the art is being produced, and where there are significant divergences from the Western
system and analysis of artistic production.
The project The Youth Sale Store came to fruition as an outcome of such
alternative practices. Young artists working in the field don't have a system
of support for their artistic productions. The international focus on Chinese
contemporary art has begun to fade away, yet the local infrastructure remains
undeveloped. Young artists show their work in a few not-for-profit venues, as
most of them don't have a place in the commercial sector. Most of them are at
an age of maturity, a time when they are expected to become more
self-sufficient, but most of them are jobless.
The Youth Sale Store was an experiment driven by a group of young artists
based in Shanghai, searching for new possibilities beyond gallery
representation and regular forms of market presence. The group collected works
by young artists that they knew, and presented these works for a month while
trying to explore the possibility of the store-space as a perpetual
project - or perhaps even a permanent strategy - showing their work without any
curatorial theme. In effect, it is a space where they can bring their new work
when they are done, and place it there as part of the show. Thus, it is more
of an open-ended format of display rather than a formal exhibition, and this
kind of artist-organized initiative attempts to discover a space for these
young artists within the art system.
Over the course of the project the show developed into a migrant store,
looking to situate itself in a host of different galleries, spaces - temporary
or otherwise - taking over the space and showing their work. The works on
display would change all the time, and new artists came in with new works.
There was no invitation, but the works were collected mainly through an
internal ¨C and informal - network between the many young artists around China.
The Youth Sale Store was shown for the first time in Shanghai, in M50, and
it's next host will be Pekin Fine Arts gallery in Beijing, from June until
August 2010.
This and many other projects initiated by artists within the last two years,
like Street Gallery, or Observation Society, are projects that introduce new
possibilities and approaches to art making, production and the development of
infrastructure.
These largely grassroots initiatives are important attempts that refer to what
type of model of infrastructure should be implemented in this cultural context
in order for it to make a meaningful and effective contribution.
The artists in this exhibition, (not art institutions, nor galleries, nor
museums), are the ones who have raised these important issues through their
work and activities. But the time has come when activities such as these or
implied strategies are not enough. Different social realities provide
different contexts, and it is time to view these contexts in relation to
one's own knowledge and how one presents one's culture. It is through the
writing of one's own history and by challenging established modes of
production that artists begin to stop taking the systems of developed
countries as a given, and further explore how, with one¡¯s own critical
contexts, each of us can establish a dialogue with ourselves, our neighbours,
or someone that crosses our path even momentarily. It is about re-defining
what it means to be "alternative"; examining the notion of "alternative"
as it applies in local contexts; and deciding what kind of dialogue we need to
re-engage with the rest
of the world. Challenging others first requires one to challenge oneself.
This should be the starting point for the "alternative".
Project introductory text by Biljana Ciric.
Special Thanks to Mommy Foundation
Artist List:
Cai Hui
Gao Mingyan
Hu Yun
Li Mu
Liao Fei
Lu Jiawei
Lu Pingyuan
Lu Yonglei
Su Chang
Tang Dixin
Xu Shijun
Ye Linghan
Zhang Fang
Zhang Lehua
Zhao Zhao
View more of this exhibition at absoltuearts.com
Visit Pekin Fine Art's Gallery Portfolio at absolutearts.com http://galleries.absolutearts.com/pekinfinearts
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