Day 2 in Chongqing
My body is starting to change its clock, and I managed to get a better sleep last night. Today I met with the artist, Tian Xing Diao Su, who has a space next door to Yan’s, and his partner, who is also a painter, and they both teach at the Sichuan Fine Arts Intitute with YanYan. Tian Xing Diao Su is a sculptor who is well known in China showing individual sculptures and undertaking dozens of commissions nationally. He uses this space as an office space/gallery to present his work and meet with clients, and also has another workshop space where he makes work with support of assistants. It is clear that he makes a very good living indeed by these prestigious public artworks that are mainly funded by the government. We went for noodles at a stand below my studio which was delicious, I will go back there for more.
Afterwards YanYan drove me to Yang Ja Ping, a busy shopping area, after which we came back and did a few more studio visits. I first met a young artist Shen Hua who creates three dimensional photo realistic sculptures painted onto fabric and then fixed with plaster. He is currently working towards a solo exhibition which will open in a few weeks at 102 Space in Chongqing. I also very much liked the mixed media artworks of Huang Xiao Ping, who uses everyday objects such as wire, cassette tape, industrial tubes and foil to create humorous, camp and kitsch forms. Another artists work who I visited at the Tank Loft Center that I very much liked, was Li Cao, who creates work that discuss the architectural structures and skyline of the ever emerging industrial landscape in Chongqing.
I spent this late afternoon walking around the neighbourhood, looking and photographing buildings and architectural ‘town planning’. Although I was aware of the never ending construction, I did not anticipate the extent of the ‘regeneration’ in both height, form and finish. My project before leaving focused on how traditional architectural layouts demonstrate control over its inhabitants, as there is the current control within the censorship upon the Internet. However, as I was aware, 90% of all traditional buildings have been demolished with tall multi storey blocks, often up to sky scraper levels. The government wants to provide more accommodation for the city to grow, but the majority of these buildings are not considered, as YanYan says it is ‘too much, too soon’. The buildings are hap-hazardly placed together, and although the buildings are made of bricks, there is a make do and mend aesthetic in many areas. The majority of structures are not visually pleasing, and are further not well cared for.
I am interested in the number of lanes and walkways that lead to new blocks of flats, amenities, and today, many outdoor games of mah jong, cards and a kind of chess, that I do not yet know the name of. As I walked today through suburban areas, I often felt lost and disorientated by the make shift walkways, that are very well clear of any grid system of the traditional layout. I will hopefully be going to one of the traditional towns on the outskirts of Chongqing on Monday with Shuwen, one of YanYan’s students.
I have also been finding out today about more about censorship online. So far, I have I cannot access YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Blogger and any video streaming such as Ch4 or BBC. YanYan and I discussed how many sites are simply inaccessible, and he explains that there is no way around it unless you purchase a specific software programme. YanYan explained that he is not bothered much about it, despite finding the internet useful for information, he does not hold as much in it as a potential space as I do.
As I was aware of before, there are blogging programmes within China, as well as the China specific Twitter and Facebook – Fanfou, Jiwai, Digu and Renren. I met an artist yesterday KangCan, who has his own blog – http://blog.artintern.net/kangcan. With regards to setting up a multi user blog within my project this needs to be considered, WordPress is accessible, but I will research further into possible locations online.
