|
Mike Weiss Gallery presents Imaginary
Enemy, an exhibition of new work by
Chinese artist Liao Yibai. The exhibition will run from May 8 to August 15, 2009.
Unlike other Chinese contemporary artists, Yibai’s sculpture uniquely explores how
the Chinese imagined the myth and threat of America during and immediately
following the Cultural Revolution.
Yibai was born and grew up at the site of a bomb and chemical weapons
factory, where his father designed cruise missiles to be used against the United
States. The artist therefore grew up in an environment of weapons, secrecy, and
danger. The key to understanding the Imaginary Enemy series is through stories
arising from the artist’s personal memories and dreams.
At first viewing, the stainless steel sculptures prompt laughter. They look
disconcertingly strange and unlike most other contemporary art. Yet each one
carries complex layers of meaning and significance. Top Secret Hamburger, for
example, recalls the artist’s first taste of an American hamburger (considered an
icon of American capitalism) and finding it rancid. Cash Fighting represents the
continuing economic battles between the two countries, while PLA Whiskey
recalls the story of a former Chinese soldier’s dream of forbidden American
alcohol. Several of Yibai’s works combine motifs from ancient Chinese art, with
memories and dreams from the artist’s childhood such as the Propaganda
Machine. In the work, a traditional turtle carries a set of megaphones resembling
the ones that blasted Communist slogans from a truck that drove through his town
three times a day.
Through his sculptures, Yibai reminds us that ‘enemy’ is a relative concept. Instead
of threatening war and competition, the works in Imaginary Enemy encourage us
to see these as humorous misunderstandings that must be corrected.
This is the first exhibition of Yibai’s work in New York. The artist attended the Sichuan
Academy of Fine Arts, and was an art lecturer at Chongqing University. Yibai’s
work has been exhibited throughout China including Beijing; Hong Kong;
Guangdong; Shenzhen as well as in Cannes, France and Miami, Florida. He
currently lives and works in Beijing and Chongqing.
|
|
|
