Fang Lijun 'China' 1963, Oil on canvas, The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Collection: Queensland Art Gallery.
What astonishes me each time I go to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is the versatility and effectiveness of the space. Every exhibition I’ve seen there looks specially created for the space, but that’s because the area can be modified to best suit the art it displays. It’s a bit like finding a flattering mirror, only instead of seeing yourself reflected back in a slimmer and taller form, it’s the artwork that shines and glows and takes on new dimensions in the gallery.
The China Project is three exhibitions in one, taking over the entire ground floor of GoMA. With more than 220 works by 51 artists it’s a significant and exciting triptych.
Walking into the wonderfully chilled environs of GoMA, the first thing you’ll see is William Yang’s exhibition ‘Life Lines’. On your left are William’s signature photographs, overlaid with his handwriting as he explains the significance of the picture or the particular time in his life. The photographs give a window into his life as an Australian with Chinese ancestry. The high wall on your right has huge images of William’s family, placed together to give a concrete feel for their bloodlines and long history in Australia and overseas.
Turning right and walking into the long gallery, you’ll enter ‘Three Decades: the Contemporary Chinese Collection’ where you’ll be confronted by two massive statues of Mao Zedong. As a journalist commented to me, would we place two giant statues idolising Hitler or Stalin at the entrance to the gallery? Especially when they’ve been made by an artist who reveres Mao and aren’t there to make a comment on the millions who died because of his programs. I suppose if they provoke these sorts of thoughts in viewers then they’re a valuable part of the exhibition.
The gallery’s giant wall is a sea of red with ‘China Red’, a commissioned piece that looks at advertising and the significance of text within China. It’s a stunning piece but my eyes kept being drawn to the facing wall, along which are lined 36 bronze busts by Ah Xian. Titled ‘Metaphysica’, each of these busts is slightly different and each has a different object perched on its head. The objects include temples, animals and lamps, all of which were found by the artist at roadside stalls or markets and then painted or treated to fit with the artwork. The long line of busts with their eyes closed give a feeling of tranquillity and peace, and the strange objects – including cicadas and crabs – perched on their heads just heighten this atmosphere.
In the rooms off the long gallery are all sorts of surprises. There’s a moving testament to the Cultural Revolution in a series of black and white photographs, juxtaposing executions with marching bands. The most colourful section is a homage to Cynical Realism and Political Pop – where artists started to use the propaganda posters as inspirations for their own subversive artworks.
One of my favourite pieces, Xu Bing’s stunning instillation ‘A Book from the Sky’, is in a room of its own. Scrolls hang from the ceiling and sweep across the room, covered in perfect calligraphy. On the floor are wooden boxes and folded papers, also covered with the same beautiful penmanship. The instillation took 5 years to create and I could have sat for hours savouring its symmetry and beauty.
The third exhibition making up The China Project is Zang Xiaogang’s ‘Shadows in the Soul’. The work included in this exhibition covers many years with the most recent piece created the night before the exhibition opened! I loved the huge portraits in the ‘Bloodline’ and ‘Amnesia and Memory’ series. These are stunning portraits, predominantly in muted colours with a splash of colour that looks like spilt nail polish somewhere on the canvas. The patches resemble birthmarks or spills on old photos and give a vulnerability to the faces on which they appear.
The other signature effect in the portraits is the glossy sheen to the eyes while the rest of the face appears to be slightly out of focus and receding. I was drawn to these teary eyes and imagined all sorts of stories behind their lids.
Families can bring children to The China Project as there’s a special area for them where they can practise painting Chinese characters in water on huge rocks and draw their own portraits. The portrait area is set up by William Yang and children are encouraged to write their stories on their pictures and then hang them on a time line, which tells them what Chinese animal they are and lets them see their self portraits alongside their peers.
The China Project was on at the Gallery of Modern Art during June 2009.
