I went to visit the new exhibition at Kunst.Licht gallery in Shanghai, another interesting work from another Chinese Photographer Liu Xun, here note from the work
Specimen
108 portraits displayed in water basins, placed there together with torn pages from the Chinese classical novel Water Margin (also known as Outlaws of the Marsh or All Men Are Brothers) form the main body of this installation/exhibition.
Each of these 108 “specimen”, a predominantly female representation of Chinese urban youth, bears the name of one of the 108 predominantly male outlaws of the original novel, as well as the label "MADE IN CHINA".
“Chinese traditional culture has gradually degenerated into a superficial label forced upon the younger generation, and from their bodies it has already become difficult to make out the cultural differences between Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.” Just as the photographs and pages of the novel slowly steep in the water, the visitor is invited to immerse himself in Liu Xun’s uniquely convergent atmosphere and approach these portraits of Chinese youth from a fresh perspective. In the artist’s words, “this manner of presentation both undermines and transcends the conventions of photography: to look at a photo, it is not necessary to hang it on the wall. A different point of view is absolutely possible.”
