An overview of video art
production from the Pearl River Delta in China:
having emerged in the mid-1980s, this vital yet under-represented art scene
is thoroughly documented in this richly illustrated catalogue (460 ill.)
which features works by nearly sixty artists (catalogue of the inaugural
exhibition at Times Art Center Berlin).
This is the catalogue of the inaugural exhibition at Times Art
Center Berlin. Through four essays by critics and curators, as well as texts
and images of the works on exhibit—more than eighty works by nearly sixty
artists—the book aims to present a vital component of the Chinese art world
which is under-represented on the global art scene, namely the contemporary
art production from the Pearl River Delta (PRD). A highly specific region of
China with its distinct cultural characteristics and traditions, the PRD has
been closely related to international influences and interwoven with popular
culture. Frequent exchanges between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the
impacts of Hong Kong's popular culture, film, television and pop music
concerning visual culture, coupled with a sensitivity for and references to
international new media art, led to rapid experimentation in video art
across the entire PRD. By adopting the medium of moving images, artists from
the PRD are looking for freedom and forms of resistance against dominant
ideology and powers, turning ordinary gestures into artistic strategies to
construct diverse "personal utopias." Their video practices represent the
most ground-breaking and powerful visions of contemporary art and culture in
the PRD. The PRD has become a creative hub for international exchange and
art activities, as well as a deviating model which inspires artists from
other parts of the world.
Published following the eponymous exhibition at Times Art Center Berlin,
from December 1st, 2018, to April 13, 2019.
