梁美萍 ﹣「 珠三角系列一：香港製造」

藝術創作以概念行先，藝術家聘用工匠或助手去完成作品，這種手法比比皆是。眾所周知，Damien Hirst價值不菲的Spot paintings，一行一行並列的圓點並非藝術家親力親為。Jeff Koons 擁有自己的藝術工場，製作需假手於人，才能趕上龐大的展覧及頻緊的展期。要不是有深圳大芬村的畫匠，梁美萍一個人也沒可能完成「珠三角系列一：香港製造」展覽中展出的大大小小共400幅作品。這展覽不僅帶出藝術作品主權所屬（Authorship）的議題，還探討了近十年來中港關係的轉移，以及中港角色之互換，而油畫來自深圳大芬村，絕對是梁美萍及策展人任卓華在這個展覽中想強調的。

藝術家 ﹣梁美萍。

展覽名為「香港製造」有其炫外之音，最表層的諷刺，就是在現實中今日香港不再主導珠三角地區的工業生產，大部分工業由於成本因素已於80年代北移內地的珠三角， 香港的外銷畫（也稱行貨畫）也不例外，大部分製作已轉移至深圳大芬村。在2006年，梁美萍已萌想著一個「香港製造」的藝術項目，她隱藏著藝術家的身份，潛入了大芬村的油畫工場，學習油畫工匠如何「抄畫」，隨後並落「柯打」，訂製一系列突顯香港社會文化表徵及符號的作品，亦即是這個展覽中的作品。這些油畫均取材自她所拍攝的照片，畫工們需以寫實方式，將同一樣的景觀，畫出不同的尺寸，如工業出品一樣，大量繪印出來，要幾多便畫幾多。故此，來看此展覽，要研究筆法是否粗糙了一點，形態是否不夠神似，確實不必要了。對於策展人來說，能夠將偌大的Osage Gallery 所有牆壁填滿油畫，喬裝成大芬村的工場，第一個目的已完成。有趣的是，混集於原始帆布畫當中，是好些帶玩味地鑲嵌上金邊畫框的油畫，它們既突顯了畫作的商業元素，同時也加強了視覺上的距離感，刺激反思。

大芬村油畫老師的教學示範錄像，加插於展覽中。

展銷架上限量發售的奶粉 ﹣成了藝術品，令人失笑。

反思香港所扮演的角色

梁美萍著意將自由行遊客的觀點放進油畫上。「迪士尼樂園米奇老鼠、金馬桶及金紫荊廣場是早一階段的作品，而近期則多描繪消費模式的現象，如奶粉、茶餐廳及上水站等等。」她的題材在不斷轉變，並觸及多重層面﹣ 由最初聚焦於旅遊景點，轉移到文化上的景觀，包括精神文化（李小龍電影）、遊行文化（七一遊行及六四燭光晚會）、以及消費文化（翠華、周大福、莎莎及Gucci）﹣ 過往的地標帶著夢想與追求，但亦夾雜著市儈與浮誇；今日的景觀雖然世俗瑣碎，但也同時充滿著香港的活力脈搏與自由氣息。

翠華茶餐廳 ﹣同是自由行旅客及港人熱愛。

這裏所反映之內地旅客觀點， 我們當然不會全部認同，但很自然地，心中會泛起種種疑問，感到要反思一下香港扮演的角色。這個展覽的作用，正如很多其他當代藝術一樣，在提出疑問，多於提供答案。回到Authorship的問題，藝術家是Concept 的擁有者，油畫雖然在大芬村製作，但仍然可以說是香港製造，梁美萍也在這400幅油畫上簽上了藝術家的大名，歡迎選購收藏。

每年的六四遊行及燭光晚會 ﹣已成為香港的景觀及核心價值。

日期： 2014年3月1日至4月1日

展覽：梁美萍 「 珠三角系列一：香港製造」 

策展人：任卓華 （Valerie C. Doran)

地點：Osage Hong Kong

Website: http://www.osagegallery.com/

The article is also posted as below:

http://thehousenews.com/art/奧沙三展-香港眼中的自由行眼中的香港/

日旅人：為什麼要去白川鄉？（二）

因為附近的《奧飛驒溫泉》

由高山市向東走，沿著彎彎曲曲、漫天風雪的158国道，來到《奧飛驒溫泉鄉》（Oku-Hida Onsen) 中最古的溫泉 ﹣平湯溫泉， 已快日落。

兩晚會住宿的旅館名為Hirayunomori ( 即平湯之森林）。飛驒（Hida)及五箇山等山區其實是德川幕府年代（1603﹣1867）的重要城市，以製火藥為主，地理上九成多是森林。此酒店稱為mori，實至名歸。原來這裡也是先有「日歸」才有「宿泊」，這旅館經營之道，正是靠外來「日歸」浸溫泉的客人。入浴費每人¥500, 據說工作人員說，它們最多客人的日子不在冬天而在夏天，一天竟多達二、三千人，充斥著盛夏來避暑的城市人。員工說奧飛驒這地區基本上是沒有夏天的，酒店也不用裝冷氣。

Hirayunomori 是著名的秘湯，露天溫泉至為有名，男子露天風呂有七個，女子的更多達九個，並十六個，包檜木風呂、亦有岩風呂，好好享受浸浴之樂，確實不枉此行。

另外一提，日本遊客或酒店區服務員近年英文水平提高不少、都是拜加拿大及澳洲Working Holiday，很多日本年青人回國後都加入工作的有關。

推介：
Hirayunomori ( 即平湯之森林）旅館
http://www.hirayunomori.co.jp/contents/entrance/entrance.html
日本秒湯協會
http://www.hitou.or.jp

日旅人：為什麼要去白川鄉？（一）

推介 ﹣民家園 野外博物館

今早先去了白川鄕。被列入作世界遺產的合掌村有三個景點，一是位於歧埠縣的白川鄕（Shirakawago) 及位於富山縣的五箇山（Gokayama)，世遺的效應令白川鄕遊人如鯽，在巴士站附近及往展望台必經的白川橋便特別人多。但入園費需要付費¥500的民家園，便人跡稀少。

市內建了一條吊橋連接「白川」兩岸。

由大大小小25棟合掌屋組成的民家園，是個野外博物館，那裹很清寧，少了人聲雜聲，正合吾意，當然更可讓我靜靜地感受懷古之思及保育的重要性。這25棟合掌屋中，其中只有9棟被指定為文化遺產，最古之《山下家》建於18世紀中江戶末期，最新及摩登的乃《淺野家》，約建於昭和30年代（即六十年代）。

只用繩子拉緊縫好

其實「合掌屋」特別之處，是屋子皆以大自然物料以人手搭成，例如用稻草取代瓦片蓋好屋頂，不用釘子而用繩子拉緊縫好木板 ～一般的稻草屋頂厚約2呎，擋風擋雨兼能擋雪，真令人嘖嘖稱奇。事實上，除了用來居住，合掌屋也用來貯物貯糧，兩片稻草屋頂角度合成為60度的等邊三角形，相信會被視為最正宗的合掌屋。

厚約2呎的稻草屋頂。

屋頂角度合成為60度。

名為合掌屋，可能也有祈福的意思，畢竟在森林之地居住，各種天災都令當時生活在簡陃屋子的合掌居民誠惶誠恐。好些合掌屋展出古民家的農具及工具，更有些成為攝影展及村內歷史照片的展覽場地，要入屋內走走需要脫去鞋子，一脫了鞋，冰冷的感覺便沁入全身。離開民家園，匆匆在小店吃飛驒牛定食，便趕著去「天府閣」展望台。在展望台遠眺荻町集落（Ogimachi Village), 是旅客們的指定動作。

從天府閣展望台鳥瞰白川鄉。

一、二月的周末周日晚上，總有數天會有機會給拍友們享用雪地亮燈盛會，合掌村內的燈都會一同亮起來，他們叫此節日做Winter Light-Up Event (冬のライトアップイベイト）。但之前沒有安排在周末到來，所以便錯過了這個機會，唯有把那些標準白川鄉夜景照片拍下來，聊勝於無算了。

其實遊覽白川鄉及高山市附近景色，可於高山火車站乘車，例如¥4300一人，可去白川鄕及五箇山，包來回的，挺方便，不過時間會有點趕。也可考慮乘 Nohi Bus 提供的各種一至數天的更彈性的乘車劵，最貴¥10000一人，當然如在高山市內遊覽，隨便坐一次買一次也可以。不以高山市做Base,也可以金澤或富山為Base， 車程個多小時，至為恰當。遊白川鄉，白雪嵦嵦的景點固然美，但寒冬期間不少景點也會閉鎖，遇上會有點掃興。不過，懷著少少遺憾，期特他日之重來，不正是旅遊之樂嗎？今次沒有去到五箇山的管沼集落（Suganuma Village) 及相倉(Ainokura Village) 兩個村莊，也唯有留待下一次了。

Further Reference:

白川鄉民合掌造り家園

http://shirakawago-minkaen.jp/guideline/

合掌街道觀光情報

http://www.gassho-kaido.jp/event.html
濃飛巴士資料
http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/ch_k/index.html

看看「香港起動 」(下）

平日每每經常爭論各種藝術媒體的重要性， 如今見這展覽的另外四位藝術家，展品都是攝影為主的系列及裝置，看來攝影己逐步成為本地新晉藝術家鍾愛的表達方式。當中文永亮(Dennis Man)及葉詠然（Kate Ip）的作品可說與香港社會緊扣，並向現存慣常的行為及規限挑戰。Dennis的攝影錄像裝置記錄及展示著一系列他如何利用無文字無圖象的粉藍色彩紙，將夜色迷朦的旺角彌敦道銀行中心區五花八門的廣告街招重新裝扮，恍如將乾淨的藍衣從洗衣機拿出來並整齊地掛上一樣～原來，貼海報的工人利用每晚七時銀行關門後在玻璃門貼上廣告海報，又在零晨一時之前將海報除下，避免違法張貼。藝術家替這六個小時的非法廣告時段重新粉飾，既製造出奇妙又異常的視覺效果，又可讓觀者對香港無處不在的消費廣告重新思考。

文永亮  《Display of Absence》 Installation (2013)

阿Kate的攝影作品《城市漫遊者》（Flaneur )，亦是以自身扮演行為表演者，衝擊城市中公共空間的荒謬。她由九龍城、旺角，再走到西環的天橋底，最終也找不到可以躺下來的公共空間，唯有用最荒誕滑稽的方式，例如睡在用吹氣的公仔上，方才可找到自處及存在的空間。

葉詠然    《城市漫遊者》(2013) Site Specific Work

另一方面，曾家偉（Eason Tsang）以及馬迪琪（Dicky Ma）的攝影作品卻呈現更多色彩及潮流上的視覺藝術。Eason的兩張作品 ～ 《花布#1》及《花布#5》，大膽嘗試挪用時裝品牌的花樣圖案作為實物構圖的起點，化成了這兩張巨型的靜物寫實攝影創作。然而仔細觀賞，卻不難察覺在繁花似錦中，泥土及花叢之間卻夾雜著格格不入的煙蒂及碎石。畫廊更特別騰出空間將藝術家的工作室實境重現眼前，看似絢麗的花海，原來暗藏不安。

曾家偉  《花布#1》(2013)  Photograph

曾家偉  《花布#5》(2013) Photograph

Dicky 的作品《一對婆婆》將春青再次附予一般人視為耆英的婆婆身上。藝術家將平日穿港式套裝、慣常飲早茶、逛街市買餸的婆婆改頭換臉，一身衣著不但活脫脫似足當今日本藝術巨匠草間彌生（Yayoi Kusama)，更借用了孫兒孫女的佻皮動作，卿卿我我咀對咀，可見每個人身邊最親近的人，都可以變成藝術創作的靈感。曾經留學英國及北京中央美術學院，最後回港完成學位課程的Dicky，又正在紐約進修，多學多見多創作，整理好自己的作品，參加海外及本地的比賽，為自己舖排機會作海外展出，絕對是本地藝術家向前進發的方向。由於攝影本身的商業性及實用性，以攝影及設計為主的藝術家，也可以嘗試一邊工作一邊創作，堅持下去，逐步打響名堂。

馬迪琪   《一對婆婆》(2013)   Photograph

此展覽中沒有揀選到繪畫作品，可能是因為買家或鑑賞家對於繪畫作品要求更高～既要求有別於西方繪畫風格的工筆造詣，又要表達香港城市的本土性，而觀念性強的作品 （conceptual based work) 亦較難以一般繪畫手法表達。曾經聽過M＋行政總監李立偉認為香港當代藝術的現況，與上世紀60至90年代的美國西岸洛杉磯的情況相似，因為有數十年時間，洛城被紐約嶄新突破兼且鋒芒畢露的藝術所掩蓋著，當時西岸的藝術家唯有默默耕耘地發展自己的藝術語言及風格，雖然過程緩慢，但終究還是被認同。我也願意相信，香港的藝術景觀，也有這樣的一天，離開被認為是undeveloped 的局面。

展覽：「香港起動 」

展出日期：2013年8月29日至2013年9月21日

地點：香港中環蘇豪區10號贊善里畫廊地下

藝術家資料：

曾寶芬（2013）、葉詠然 （2013）、馬迪琪（2013）香港浸會大學視覺藝術學院學士

岑侃倫（2013）、文永亮 （2013）、曾家偉 （2013）香港城市大學創意媒體系學士

莫佩玉（2013）、黃天盈 （2014）香港中文大學藝術文學

看看「香港起動 」（上）

談談我們未來的藝術家 (上）

一位來港研究香港的藝術價值、並打算在此找工作的義大利女孩跟我說，在三個星期的逗留中、她探訪過不少畫廊負責人，很多認為Hong Kong art scene is undeveloped （澄清一下，主要是指視覺藝術）。面對這樣的觀點，我無法一下子否定，只覺得這個批評，較之以往每多來形容Hong Kong art 的 形容詞 ﹣ Hybridity （雜種）﹣更令我覺得難堪。是跟世界各地比較呢？還是中國當代藝術作比較？香港仍算是亞洲區城市之龍頭吧？但難道香港藝發局過往推動視覺藝術的工作都是枉然？還是大學及藝術學院數十年培育之藝術家及藝術教育都不夠水平嗎？

近日看了10號贊善里藝廊 ﹣「香港起動 」（HKForeword13)，感受到了一間商業畫廊對香港年輕藝術生力軍的支持，對鼓舞本港新晉藝術家，尤其是剛從藝術學院畢業的學生們，起了極大的作用，能推動藝術品的商業價值，對藝術家來說，就像是打了強心針一樣，至於藝術品初期能不能賣錢，還是次要。

畫廊將700 呎的white cube分成了三個區域， 策展人在玻璃門位置建構了一塊白色展示牆，牆外展示了八件作品中的第一件～一具由幾支鐵框鑄成的立體長方型雕塑，形狀簡約，但隱隱可看出中間有一個弓形的座位，向街的牆壁上同時展示著不斷重覆播放的錄像：演出者走進立體長方型內，然後忍耐地坐在沒有承托位的鐵支架上，大腿的肌肉透著熬著痛的感覺一這個是22歲、當中年紀最輕的藝術家兼演出者阿寶（Po Tsang) 象徵如坐針氈般、坐立不安的作品 ﹣《坐．座》。以這個作品為是次展覽的序幕，顯然是有意冇意地，假設作為藝壇的新丁，必須要一點點耐力，並經常鍛鍊，忍受作為藝術家的挑戰。

曾寶芬 《坐．座》(2013) Metal Sculpture 130 X 69 X 44cm

其餘七個作品都分佈在廳與房兩個區域 。承接著阿寶對自身能耐的挑戰， 莫佩玉（Liz Mok) 的《魂結》由兩段同步放映的3分鐘錄像組成，分別背對背地繫於廳與房之中，Liz對痛苦的陳述似乎流露出更深刻的體會～ 透過隨手沾來的橡筋圈，結成長橡筋繩子，一個畫面呈現出橡筋在漆黑的空間被拼命地向著兩邊拉扯，直至撕裂而消失，另一個畫面由她自導自演拍攝了一場牙齒與橡筋圈的角力，當她將橡筋圈咬斷，表演才停止，前者象徵著抽象的精神折磨，後者是肉體受難之痛，兩者結合的感染力更令人感到有點崩潰及震憾，與其說這是一種身體表演藝術(Body Performance Art)，更像是一種帶著自虐性的的忍耐行為藝術(Art of Endurance)。

莫佩玉  《魂結》 (2013) Two Channel-Video

莫佩玉  《魂結》 (2013) Two Channel-Video

女性有著天生特強的忍痛能力，同時也可輕抽淡寫，刻劃細膩的女兒家心事。擅長精緻環保手工創作的黃天盈（Tiana Wong)，以作品《壁花》  漫不經心地描繪對同性女友又愛又妒又恨的複雜感情，她把半燒蕉了的黑白照倒轉，連同灰燼加上流動的油液，存放在透明小方包內，就像為對方的愛情加添了咒語～在這吊起的裝置上，白色的牆壁貼上若隱若現的白色宣言～「當世界只剩下我們」，很有滿不在乎世俗眼光的傲氣。

黃天盈 《壁花》 (2013)  Installation

相對於Tiana的故意低調，廳中另一端是岑侃倫 (Kanlun Cen)一組聲影結合、令人目炫神迷的裝置 ﹣那走馬燈般轉動的光與影，像蘊含磁石般的魅力，叫人捨不得走開。原來藝術家利用吊懸在天花頂的投影機，同步發放出兩個相關又對立的影像，不合比例的傾斜影像是假象也是夢想，另一個投影於小圓柱體的影像，才是真實及合符比例的現實﹣似乎在說，夢想與真實需要互相配合，生命才能擦出火花。

岑侃倫《暗流》 (2013)  Video Installation

The Gao Brothers: Are They Dissident Artists?

Midnight Mass (1989) Courtesy of the artist

The controversial practice of the Beijing-based duo, the Gao Brothers - Gao Zhen (b.1956) and Gao Quang (b.1962) - has steadily gained international prominence. Since the Chinese government decided to lift the brothers’ ban on foreign travel in 2003, their work has not only been widely exhibited across the globe but also acquired by important institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou and by renowned art collectors including Steven Cohen and Charles Saatchi. It is well known that the Gao Brothers tackle a variety of Chinese taboo issues head on – from sex and nudity to a critique of the political establishment. Only able to secretly exhibit within China at one stage, being branded dissidents undeniably raised their appeal but the question remains: are the Gaos really dissident artists?

Commissioned for the China/Avant-Garde exhibition of 1989, Midnight Mass (1989), a giant inflatable sculpture of an androgynous figure made from balloons and rubber gloves oddly simulates male and female genitalia. In 2001, despite the fact that the Chinese Ministry of Culture had passed an ordinance prohibiting any form of body and performance art displaying “obscenity”, the brothers continued their famous nude hug performances (which began in 2000) (maybe better to take it away?).  It is worth noting that Gao Brothers understand that bringing up Chinese taboo issues, such as nudity and sex in their oeuvre have helped to strengthen their avant-garde appeal.

20 People Hired to Hug No.1, 2001. Courtesy of the artist.

Nevertheless, the brothers’ pieces sarcastically mocking the former communist leader of the Chinese one-party system, Chairman Mao Zedong (1893-1976), instigator of the catastrophic Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and ultimately responsible for the persecution and execution of millions of “counter-revolutionaries” are invariably favoured by the international art world. A major reason why the Gao Brothers are so emotionally involved in their Mao series of works is because their father, Gao Wenchen fell victim to the system - was imprisoned and possibly even murdered in prison. 

Miss Mao No.3 (2007)
On view in Gao Brothers: Grandeur and Catharsis, September 17, 2010- January 2, 2011 at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: Bruce Mathews

Installation view of the Gao Brothers' The Execution of Christ (2009). On view in Gao Brothers: Grandeur and Catharsis, September 17, 2010- January 2, 2011, at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
Photo: Bruce Mathews

The Gao Brothers: Grandeur and Catharsis exhibition at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, USA in 2010 showcased several of their Mao works. Miss Mao No. 3 (2007) is a bulbous, baby-faced feminised Chairman Mao sculpture featuring an elongated Pinocchio nose, huge breasts and the tyrant’s distinctive chin mole - a parody of the monster that was Mao. Another important piece, Execution of Christ (2009) evokes Mao’s violent suppression of religious freedoms at the time of the Cultural Revolution when only the cult of Mao was permitted. The work shows a squad of rifle bearing Chairman Mao figures ready to fire at Christ. The sculpture, Mao’s Guilt (2009) which features a detachable head, shows the apologetic ruler on his knees, remorseful for his wrongdoings. These provocative works received critical acclaim in the West and the Gao Brothers have since been championed as dissident artists who dare to criticise the Chinese political establishment. 

Aptly, on the fourth of June 2013, on the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the preview of the Gao Brothers’ current photography exhibition Between Spiritual and Material Spaces: The Photographic World of the Gao Brothers was held at Hua Gallery, south west London’s venue for Chinese contemporary art. Many art critics and the London art-loving public who follow the work of dissident Chinese contemporary artists such as Ai Weiwei attended the event. However, those anticipating likewise provocative works in this London show, may have found the Gao Brothers’ photographic works on display rather oblique and elusive, even lacking in poignant critique of the Mao series they have grown famous for.

According to the show’s curator Dagmar Carnevale Lavezzoli, the exhibition aims to present the artists’ unique critique of China and the world in transition: “I wanted to display those Gaos’ works that are dealing with Chinese current issues (such as frantic urbanisation, rapid economic development that generate a sense of loneliness and solitude among individuals), works that set China as their starting point and extending to the human condition,” she informed me.  Without showing the iconic Mao figure, the Gao Brothers thus strive to demonstrate that they are equally relevant through their photographic narratives as through their sculptures of the infamous ruler. 

Sense of Space - Wake, 2000. Courtesy of Hua Gallery

By capturing 14 nude male bodies juggling for space in a domestic closet, Sense of Space - Wake (2000), one of the most eye-catching pieces in the show emphatically sheds light into a human zoo of deprived freedom. The large influx of male migrant workers moving from villages to cities has since the early 1980s resulted in millions of young men living in excessively cramped conditions in the urban settings. On the one hand, the piece can be interpreted simply as factory workers being placed in a closet where they are rendered helpless and isolated and on the other hand, the distressed and uneasy look on the men’s young faces is also an allegorical interpretation of the suppression of gay love in Chinese society. Until fairly recently, homosexuality was considered a mental illnesses in China so it is therefore quite daring for the Gao Brothers to raise the gay issue. 

Outer Space Project - Map of China, 2008. Courtesy of Hua Gallery

Detail, Outer Space Project, 2008. Courtesy of Hua Gallery

Outer Space Project, Map of China (2008) looks like a monochrome honeycomb map of China taken from high above and sees the Gao Brothers acquire narratives from the Internet as well as from their own archive footage – adding miniature images of people into hundreds of honeycomb cells. In so doing, the artists explore the dilemma between hope and frustrations around the time of the Beijing Olympics. Beneath the booming economy’s apparent prosperity rested real social unrest. China is thus depicted as a large world leader but nevertheless a prison house with little freedom of thought - a conflict between the individual and the state.

The Forever Unfinished Building No.4, 2008. Courtesy of Hua Gallery

Miniature narratives that reflect the ordeal of life in present day China are also found in The Forever Unfinished Building No.4 (2008) a photographic work of an abandoned construction site in Jinan, the brothers’ hometown.  The premises serve as a re-enactment of pressing socio-political issues - depicting a troubled world whereby religious pluralism and political freedom is only a fictional utopia. Not only have the brothers incorporated religious figures such as Jesus and the Dalai Lama into the scene, but totalitarian figures including Adolf Hitler are called upon to join Chinese Communist leaders in a fabricated funeral of Mao Zedong cum Saddam Hussein.

Detail, The Forever Unfinished Building No.4, 2008. Courtesy of Hua Gallery

The piece also revisits seminal events in the history of modern China - from the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protest where the statue of the Goddess of Democracy was erected by Beijing art students only to be destroyed by the People’s Liberation Army, to the Sichuan province earthquake of 2003, which partly due to poorly constructed social housing, saw the deaths and injuries of many civilians. Resembling Dante’s Inferno, the work’s different layers of chaotic scenarios openly criticise the rampant corruption prevalent amongst the Chinese political elite. Images of nudity, prostitution and vagrancy also pervade the piece, conveying an urgency to lay bare the truth of human existence, human desire and a yearning for a better life. 

The Gao Brothers have never denied the political aspects of their practice. In fact, they have long attributed being on the government’s blacklist and banned from traveling abroad to their 1989 signing - alongside other prominent Chinese intellectuals - of the famous ‘Open Letter to Deng Xiaoping’. In it, they called for the release of all political prisoners including China’s most famous human rights activist involved in the democracy movement, Wei Jingshen (b.1950). It has been established that the bold open letter was a catalyst to the Tiananmen Square Protest that led to the massacre itself. Like Chinese political dissidents forbidden to leave their own country, it took 14 years since the signing of the open letter that the brothers’ travel ban was lifted.

It is therefore understandable that they treasure their current freedoms and persist on negotiating a form of dissent that is allowed by the state. Alongside works showing resentment towards Mao, they are willing to experiment a new visual vocabulary of artistic detachment. The photographic narratives displayed at Hua Gallery require detailed scrutiny as well as a good understanding of Chinese society. They also reflect an attempt by part of (can it be deleted? Since I don’t know how to use it) the brothers not only to appeal to the international market but also to Chinese people. This is most certainly a response to the changing Chinese art scene.

Admittedly, in 2009, the Gao Brothers intended to bid a temporary farewell to producing Mao-themed works. This shift was not so much self-censoring but pure pragmatism - the rise of the Chinese internal contemporary art market is supported by younger generations of affluent buyers born after the Cultural Revolution and consider the figure of Mao passé. Equally, the international success of the Gao Brothers also helps seal their domestic credibility and consequently the Gao Brothers like many other Chinese artists, grasp every chance to exhibit their work abroad. This relatively recent development has seen commercial factors often taking precedence over what is actually being exhibited.

Henceforth, in the same manner as the Gao Brothers’ works have shown naked bodies in their hug performances despite the Ministry of Culture’s ban on this type of work, the siblings’ Mao themed works can be viewed as one of those experimental endeavors that help push boundaries and test the permissiveness of the Chinese authorities. As the Gao Brothers’ new exhibition at Hua Gallery demonstrates, for them as for other so called dissident Chinese contemporary artists who have already gained international critical acclaim - with Ai Weiwei at the lead - playing the market has become a priority. Being categorised as dissident therefore simply doesn’t cover the whole story.

The article is also published here:
http://www.artworldnow.com/2013/07/the-gao-brothers-dissident-artists.html