Yu Hong and Jiang Jie are not merely representatives of Chinese female artists, but rather leading contemporary Chinese artists.  At a time when the Chinese political economy is changing shape, and the entire world is focused on contemporary Chinese art, the persistence and depth of works by Jiang Jie and Yu Hong provides an alternative on the contemporary art map.   

In the “She” series, which she has been engaged with in recent years, Yu Hong has gone away from the narrative of the individual, and investigated the daily lives of all women.  In the process of turning her focus from an individual experience to a collective experience, she focuses on another gaze; that of the sight of the “viewed subject.”  In the “She” series, the images painted are those already selected by the artist, it is the gaze of “another look.”

Jiang Jie’s work is an extension of her work which she has been carrying out in recent years, involving yellow roof tiles.  The color yellow, once a symbol of the power of the emperor, has been changed to pink, representing women.  Covered in polystyrene wrap, these pink tiles radiate the theme of “fragile,” only this time there is also an element of irony.  Atop the tiles lie glossy painted sculptures of babies whose look is much like the exterior of shiny new automobiles - emitting a commercialist atmosphere. Its meaning and its opposing metaphor both have to do with the rise of a technological age.

This exhibition shows the ability of artists to respond to society and its problems in the rapid changes of today.  It also shows both artists’ sensitivity and ability to respond to their environments. 

Curator:  Zhai Yongming

Opening   Saturday October 29 3pm

Dates      October 29 – November 26, 2006

Venue      Long March Space B