Scream are proud to present the first UK exhibition of Beijing based artist Ye
Hongxing and the launch of our new gallery space. There has been a vast surge of
interest in Chinese contemporary art, as a result of the booming local economy, the
historical significance of the work currently produced and the increased exposure that
collectors and art viewers have through exhibitions and international art fairs.
Hongxing states that her work is “a reaction to the swift change of Chinaʼs social
system”.
Hongxing has produced new works that address the anthropological, technological
and economical developments that are happening in the region. The title of the
exhibition references the 1905 novel ʻA Modern Utopiaʼ by H.G Wells and is
suggestive of the artistʼs investigation into society and modern life. Hongxing creates
jewel-like mosaics of a hybrid reality using a collage of stickers on canvas, and
imagery inspired by mainstream media. Usually collected during childhood, this
mass-produced, kitsch material is deftly applied to create kaleidoscopic and highly
detailed compositions. Depicting fictional landscapes, nature, modern machinery
such as helicopters and guns, fantastical figures and religious imagery, Hongxing
juxtaposes these elements to create explosions of colour. Reminiscent of the ancient
decorative technique of Cloisonné, frequently used in China on metal-work objects
and jewellery since the Fourteenth century, and the contemporary Indian artist Raqib
Shaw, the cacophony of colour and detail present an infinite world that dazzles and
envelops you.
Several of the works in this exhibition depict the Mandala. Sanskrit for ʻcircleʼ, this
ancient symbol of concentric diagrams was traditionally used as a visual tool for
spiritual teaching, a focus for meditation and devotion. Hongxing renders these
religious symbols with her unique, labour-intensive application of colourful stickers,
which highlights the disconcerting fusion between the modern material and the
sacred ideology it depicts.
Through this body of work Hongxing seems to imply that this rapid expansion in
China can perhaps have a chaotic, isolating and fragmentary effect on society, where
traditions and values are overlooked and potentially lost. These works provoke an
engaging discourse on nature, urbanity, religion and secularism and a conflicting
utopian vision of the modern world.
Born in Guangxi, China in 1972, Hongxing graduated from the prestigious Central
Fine Art Academy in Bejing in 1998. She was selected by the curator of the Asian
Art Museum in California and the director of Art Cologne out of over a thousand
emerging Chinese artists as one of Chinaʼs top twenty rising artists. Hongxingʼs work
has been well received internationally, with exhibitions including China Art Museum,
Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Nanjing Museum of Contemporary Art, Art
Scene Beijing; the 7th Annual Exhibition of Sculptures and Installations in Venice; Art
Taipei in Taiwan, Art Cologne and Miami Basel.
For
further
information,
press
enquiries,
images
or
interview
requests,
please
contact:
Lee
Sharrock
–
07814
862
834
/
lee@leesharrock.co.uk