Fuck Off (art exhibition)
"Fuck Off" (Chinese: 不合作的方式) was a controversial art exhibition which ran alongside the Third Shanghai Biennale (2000), which itself was the city's first attempt at a truly international survey of contemporary art. The exhibition’s title translates as "Uncooperative Approach" in Chinese, but the blunter English language sentiment was deemed preferable.[clarification needed]
[edit] Overview
The exhibition was held in an Eastlink Gallery warehouse by Feng Boyi and the 43-year-old Ai Weiwei, and is revered by many young Chinese artists.[1] Ai encapsulated "Fuck Off"'s artistic-curatorial attitude with one set of photos in which he gives the finger in turn to the White House, the Forbidden City and the viewer, and another in which he releases an ancient Han Dynasty Chinese vase which smashes at his feet.[1]
The exhibition included works by 46 avant-garde artists, among them He Yunchang, who posed in a color photograph while bare-chested and suspended from a crane by his ankles over a rushing river into which he holds a blade, the same knife he later used to cut his own arm.[1] Sun Yuan exhibited Solitary Animal, a glass case containing an animal skeleton and—purportedly—enough poison gas to wipe out the show's entire audience.[1] Wang Chuyu's performance consisted of a four-day fast.[1] Zhu Ming floated down the Huangpu River in a plastic bubble wearing a diaper.[1]
One of the most famous examples from this exhibition was the performance of "Eating People" by Zhu Yu. It consisted of a series of photographs of him cooking and eating what is alleged to be a human fetus. One picture, circulated on the internet via e-mail in 2001, provoked investigations by both the FBI and Scotland Yard. The piece's cannibalistic theme was controversial in Britain when Zhu's work was featured on a Channel 4 documentary exploring Chinese modern art in 2003. In response to the public reaction, Zhu Yu stated, "No religion forbids cannibalism. Nor can I find any law which prevents us from eating people. I took advantage of the space between morality and the law and based my work on it". Zhu has claimed that he used an actual fetus which was stolen from a medical school.
Many influential artists of the current Chinese art scene took part, many of whom have since been included in international exhibitions, catalogues and television documentaries.
The exhibition was closed by the Shanghai police before its scheduled closing date.[2]
A catalog of the exhibition has been published, a black book with the simple title "FUCK OFF" on the cover.
[edit] List of artists exhibited
Ai Weiwei, Cao Fei, Chen Lingyang, Chen Shaoxiong, Chen Yunquan, Ding Yi, Feng Weidong, Gu Dexin, He An, He Yunchang, Huang Lei, Huang Yan, Jin Lei, Li Wen, Li Zhiwang, Liang Yue, Liang Yue, Lin Yilin, Lu Chunsheng, Lu Qing, Meng Huang, Peng Yu, Peng Donghui, Qin Ga, Rong Rong, Song Dong, Sun Yuan, Wang Bing, Wang Yin, Wang Chuyu, Wang Xingwei, Wu Ershan, Xiao Yu, Xu Tan, Xu Zhen, Yang Yong, Yang Fudong, Yang Maoyuan, Zhang Zhenzhong, Yang Zhichao, Zhang Dali, Zhang Shengquan, Zheng Guogu, Zhu Ming, and Zhu Yu. Chen Hao, Zheng Jishun, and Song Tao exhibited a video documenting their walk through the city while blood leaked from plastic tubes inserted into their veins.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Richard Vine, Art in America, July 2001.
- ^ http://www.aapmag.com/53features1.html ArtAsiaPacific accessed May 23, 2007.
