China Art Projects promotes both new and established Chinese and International artists through an exciting programe of curated group and solo exhibitions. C.A.P. showcases the work of both emerging and established artists. Their inaugural exhibitions curated by Tony Scott for China Art Projects were the C.A.P. Launch at Two Lines Space Da Shanzi / 798 Art District, Beijing and LuminousDark, International Touring Exhibition, Berlin July 2008 / Beijing October 2008.
Artists艺术家
Gonkar Gyatso贡嘎·嘉措, Tony Scott托尼·苏格特, Adam Bridgland亚当·伯格兰
Trading Meaning
The exchange of ideas as the raison d’etre of art is nothing new; nor is the apparent dissonance between art and commerce. Trading meaning acknowledges the communication of ideas through Gonkar Gyatso, Adam Bridgland and Tony Scott - three artists who employ forms generally associated with branding, marketing and commerce.
Trading involves an exchange of product or service and has a direct bearing on culture, lifestyle and values. We can deny the impact of trade and commerce, we can overstate its impact, we can rail against the values associated with it, or we can whole-heartedly embrace it – but we cannot ignore the effect of the exchange of goods for benefit and/or profit.
Implicit in the practice of trading is a readily decipherable code which conveys the nature and purpose of the agency that provides the product or service. This needs to be accessible to potential clients, customers, consumers and collectors, through promotion and advertising. The key element in this transaction is the symbol of the agency as a logo and/or slogan – branding.
Icons, trademarks, branding, symbols and signs are the visual codes for communication. The artists produce work which reflects on and refers to ‘trading’ and its concomitant symbols. The three artists address the codes used in medicine, religion and business drawing connections between traditional and contemporary language. With wit and humour, the artists subvert the content of language, making us re-think intention, meaning and value.
Adam Bridgland takes the form of logos and ‘de-activates’ them through translation into private or personal meanings as unique objects. Bridgland’s materiality of his product, the hand-stitching and the fabric, creates a counter-point to the impersonalised, reproduced design image or ‘brand’. The meaning of the image, apparently a symbol, is turned around through Bridgland’s wit and humour to reference our desire for possessions and lifestyle aspirations.
Gonkar Gyatso generates a frisson between the spiritual force of Buddhism and the impact of modern consumer culture on the global society. The form of the Buddha is constructed and/or overlayed with mini-stickers and pencil text taken directly from pop culture and imagery – Disney characters, Coca-Cola, Macdonald’s, Starbucks, Prada and Versace – as well as media headlines on global issues. The cultural imperialism of dominant economies is shown as having a bearing on the way people live their lives; for Gonkar, the strength of his own tradition, Tibetan culture, lies in its deep and abiding association with Buddhist belief and practice. Each sticker image is minute in relation to the over-riding image of Buddha. Even large objects such as aircraft are made to appear insignificant against the monumentality of a form which is not so much defined as suggested in the cosmos.
In the context of this exhibition, Tony Scott’s educational aids may refer to a relationship between marketing strategies and medical practice. The belief that diagnoses of patients’ conditions and the remedies are conditioned by oaths and absolute integrity of practice is subverted when economic interests appear to have an effect on the outcome. Scott references his personal health, related to hearing, foot ailments, blood pressure and dentistry, through an installation of objects used as professional and public aids in traditional Chinese medicine.
Reg Newitt, Trading Meaning curator, May 2009.
