After Expo the emptiness
- Source: Global Times
- [09:36 December 08 2010]
- Comments
Weltschmerz at the Stageback Gallery.
By Nick Muzyczka
Say what you will about World Expo 2010 in Shanghai this summer, it is safe to suggest that it focused everyone's attention in a surprisingly vigorous way. Almost every turn of events, positive and negative, was attributed to the Expo in some way and the multitude of related cultural and entertainment projects kept people busy.
But then what happened? For two expat artists, Chris Gill and Terence Lloren, the city has entered a period of post-Expo mourning, a sort of empty "what's next?" feeling. According to the duo "Shanghai is suffering Weltschmerz - a kind of world weariness, a languor and a melancholy pain, indescribable, but there nonetheless."
Their exhibition at the Stageback Gallery, housed in the 696 artistic complex on Weihai Road, is intended to capture this feeling. This small venue is dedicated to promoting local artists who are producing more experimental projects. The exhibition is curated in a dense, lively fashion with paintings hanging from bizarre angles, creating an interesting hive-like atmosphere.
Gill's work (painting) is visually complex and colorful, something the artist attributes to a desire to produce work that can remain engaging over a period of time. Lloren is a sound artist who has contributed several soundscape works to the exhibition, all recorded at different locations in the city.
"We wanted to do something quite spectacular with this exhibition because the 696 area has an uncertain future. The lease on the gallery is up at the end of this month and no one really knows what will happen in 2011," Gill explained.
"Shanghai has been full of international projects and events over the Expo, so we wanted to do something inherently localized," continued the artist. There are several references in Gill's work to issues that remain constant in Shanghai and have not been affected by the Expo.
Change and development
Gill suggested that the female form in his work represents change and development: "The female body undergoes many changes over time, especially during pregnancy, so I use this to represent the fluctuation and reinvention of Shanghai."
Cut-up bank cards (which come from a bag of over 100 that Gill was sold in a market in Beijing for some reason) refer to financial security, while collages of housing advertisements speak of the difficulties of buying property at affordable rates in Shanghai.
Gill's figures are all simple, abstract line drawings. For him, this renders the human form in such a way as to convey a lack of definition - a floating, ethereal character that works nicely in a city where nothing seems immune to change.
Sara Price, 33, a visitor to the gallery told the Global Times that her reaction to the works was modified slightly by reading the press release after an initial viewing. "My first impression was that the paintings must be done by a foreigner, because of the references to Shanghai all over the work. I also thought the artist was female - a strong sense of femininity came through immediately," she said.
"Reading about the background and intention of the artists somehow reversed my perspective - some elements of the work that I previously did not enjoy became more interesting and vice versa. I started to view the abundance of female figures differently, for example."
