Curator: Colin Chinnery

Shi Qing will present his latest installation work in a solo exhibition in March. The artist has been exploring different ways of looking back at history, specifically between the process of Chinese modernization and its internal development; and is trying to find potential possibilities that are influential to today’s social economy. The installation Factory consists of furniture-sized ‘architecture’ that is installed in the layout of a traditional factory. A mixture of office furniture and living appliances from the planned economy era fit inside these factory buildings. The size of each building fits around one piece of furniture like a glove. The strict economic system of units, the eradication of personal space, and the collectivization of labor all achieve a certain kind of convergence in this installation. In a rogue reconstruction experiment, the artist exposes the necessity for reality in China to change the form of modernity we live under.

The installation Farm, in which Shi Qing transforms a household balcony into a micro-farm, originates from the Chinese urban experience of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Such family agricultural units form a stark contrast with the excesses of industrial production, which has resulted in over-consumption and environmental damage. While doubting western progressionist values, Shi Qing raises a more pressing question: how can we substantiate our original system of values and make them heard? Now that the current global economic model has bitten its own tail, it may be the perfect time to explore these issues.

Shi Qing’s research based creative process is quite unique amongst Chinese artists today. His work has constantly evolved in content and form. His explorations include the psychology of symbolism and ritual, the social contexts of personal history, urban politics, global economic histories and their effect of culture, and the relationship on Chinese recent history of globalization.