Theexhibitioninvited50artistsfromdifferentcountriesincludingChina,Mexico,Spain,Brazil,India,Russia,SouthAfricaandSouthKorea.Theirworksdiscusstheroleartplaysinthechainreactionofemergingeconomiesandhowartdealswithsocialtransformationsandtheirinfluenceonsocietyandindividuals.
AftertheIChingXXIVFûbyFrancescoClemente,watercolorandminiatureonpaper,35.6x50.8cm,2016StuckintheMiddle
AlthoughtheexhibitionfocusesonBRICScountries,theparticipatingartistshailfromawiderrangeofnations.Curatorshopedthatinvitingrepresentativesfromseveraldevelopingcountrieswouldresultinlightradiatingfroma“middlezone.”“WehaveartistsfromSpain,Cuba,Mexico,Chile,PanamaandevenIraq,”notescocuratorHuangDu.
Thesenationsfromthe“middlezone”areneitherWesterncountriesnorundevelopedones,andrepresentarisingforce.“IncontrastwithWesterneconomicsoftransnationalcapitalismandmodesofknowledgeproduction,newemergingeconomiesfocusonnationalmodernizationandculturaldiscovery,”explainsHuang.“Influencedbyglobalcapitalism,theybenefitfromitandgrow.Theircomplicatedanddiversepoliticalandeconomicsituationspresentadifferentbrandofmodernization,whichdemandsattentionandanalysisthatcanbesatisfiedinpartthroughstudyoftheirartisticpractice.”
TheexhibitionhopestoshakeoffthenormalworldwidecontextofWest-centeredglobalizationandfocusonnationsinthe“middle”toshowthecommonalitiesanddifferencesoftheglobalizationprocess.
“Forexample,forChinesepeople,demolitionisoneofthemostconflictedissuesofurbanization,”Huangcontinues.“Chinamustfacethisproblemalongsideotherdevelopingcountries.PanamanianartistDonnaConlontookphotosofhercountry’soldcitiesandtitledtheseries‘DominoEffect’tohighlightdemolitionandreflectontheimpactsofurbanization.St.Petersburgistearingdownoldbuildingsevenmorefrantically.Emergingeconomiesareallfacingsimilarproblemslikepenetrationofcapital,lawlessnessanddestructionoftradition.”
Curatorsbelievethatartfromthe“middlezone”isneither“theother”nor“itself,”whichcontributestoartisticvitality.Theyfeaturecharacteristicsofnon-Westernmodernization,whichfitsperfectlywiththe“AnotherChoice”theme.
AftertheGift—Blossfedt’sFanbySaschaPohle,HDcolorsilentvideo,24’38’’,2016
StudiesonMaps,radio,6’52’’,80x80x57cm,photographand221neonlighttubes,2016
WretchedoftheEarth82byKendellGeers,irondustonpaper,102x66cm,2016
DominoEffectbyDonnaConlon,videos,5’13”,2013
DominoEffectbyDonnaConlon,videos,5’13”,2013
UntitledbySubodhGupta,mixedmedia,441x111x101cm,200-250kgapprox.,2012
TheWinterof2014—RefinedBurningbyWangLijun,variablesize,coal,2014ArtisticDialogue
In2001,economistJimO’NeillcoinedtheacronymBRIC.In2010,SouthAfricawasaddedtothegroup,makingit“BRICS.”Foralongtime,thestudyofemergingeconomieshasfocusedontheireconomicroles.Suchlarge-scaleartshowsfromemergingeconomiesarestillrare.
“Arthasthepowertopenetratethedepthsofsocialandculturalmattersbyvirtueofitstropological,subjectiveapproach,whichallowsartworkstoaddresstheintricaciesofsociety,”remarksCubabasedco-curatorGerardoMosquera.“Inalivelyandenlighteningmanner,artdocumentsthehumanaspectsofprogressandhighlightssubjectivemattersandculturalpredicamentsthatmacroeconomicnumbersmiss.”
Theexhibitiondidnotarrangeexhibitsbynation.“Weplacedworksonrelatedtopicstogethertopromotedialogueamongworksandhighlightthemixedandoverlappedvigorofartinthe‘middlezone,’”explainsYanYan,deputydirectorofToday’sArtMuseum.
Forinstance,WengFen,MarcosRamirezErreandEasonTsengKa-waiallreflectoncomplicatedissuesinmulti-dimensionalspace.StaringatOrdosbyWengdocumentsOrdos,aChinesecityrichincoal,whichdeclinedafterthecountrybegantoshiftitsmodeofdevelopment.Asnapshotoftheabsurdgrowthofacity,theworknotonlyexpresseshumananxietyaboutspace,butalsomirrorstherelationbetweenmoderncapitalandconsumersociety.ContrastingWeng,MarcosRamirezErre’sCityPortraitsemployscartography,technology,sociologyandethnicgroups.Itusesabstractformtoilluminatethecomplicatednatureofglobalization.HongKongartistEasonTsengKa-wai’sNewLandmarkfeaturesphotosofthesurfacesofarchitecturefromalowangle.
“Mostcontemporaryartistsdon’tdescribe,analyze,expressorbuildcontext,”addsGerardoMosquera.“Thecontextcomesfromtheirpersonal,historical,culturalandsocialcontextsininternationalterms.Contextthusceasestobea‘closed’circuitrelatedtoareductiveconceptandprojectsitselfasaspacefromwhichinternationalcultureisbuiltnaturally.Theworksinthisexhibitioninjectthisdynamicintocontemporaryart.”
TheThinkerbySuXinping,80x60cm,oiloncanvas,2010