Kochi: At the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Chinese artist Dai Xiang has revisited the contemporary history of China through the prism of a 12th century Chinese painting ‘River side scene at Kim Ming Festival’ done by Zhang Zeduan.
‘The new along the river during the Qingming festival 2014’ is drawing the attention of art lovers with its detailing and magnification of history.
The 25-metre panoramic photo installation, comprising more than 1,000 photographs, strikes a chord with the characters and situations from the original painting of Zeduan fully altered by Dai Xiang in his work. Compiling 1TB data and processing almost 10,000 layers of photos, Mr. Xiang’s work took almost three years to complete. He is also a character in some 90 photographs.
Breaking national boundaries, his photos sketch the current realities in China through a dramatic approach and point a finger at issues bothering China. A 21st century interpretation of a painting from the Song dynasty, Mr. Xiang’s work was a topic of discussion on the Chinese social media.
The digital panorama on display at Aspinwall House will give an impression of Zeduan’s painting at first, but once you look at the detailing carefully, the crisis and issues of modern China will slowly unfold before you.
The Chinese officials with ‘chenguan’ title who are shown in conflict with street vendors, real estate entrepreneurs who force native people out of their houses, streets of sex workers, luxury cars, scenes of accidents and amidst all these, unbothered, relaxed tourists walking with cameras in hand. The panorama uses symbols that communicate with the new world.
The panorama has included real incidents, too. The death of three university students while trying to rescue children drowning in a river in 2009 is an intriguing image. The high charges demanded by fishermen to find corpses of the students had sparked huge protests in China. The scene where the son of a police officer escapes from the tragic scene using his father’s name is also included. Mr. Xiang’s panorama got worldwide attention for reflecting the transformation of modern China into a corporatised society.
“The representation of China, a nation which always had a conventional view, undergoing a conflict between westernisation and transformation after liberalisation is being revealed in my panorama,” said Mr. Xiang. “I’ve tried to incorporate vivid perspectives to portray an in-depth narrative.”
