1844 Macau Photography Art Space will host a photography exhibition by artist Tang Jing, ‘No Where There – Works by Tang Jing’ January 15 to March 16, 2019 at 1844.
‘No Where There’ is a series of images photographed by Tang Jing since 2013. The artist selects the shooting places through careful selection and research. The creation process includes interviews, video recordings and on-site experiences etc. ‘No Where There’, which means ‘beautiful new world’ in the Chinese title, is inspired from one of the three most famous dystopian novels, ‘Brave New World’ (1932) by the English author Aldous Huxley. It is a novel set in London in 2540 CE, depicting the writer’s imagination about the future of the high-tech civilization, where there was no pain, but happiness. The novel depicted how such a ‘perfect world’ has brought huge influences on the mental world of people and their social civilization, the novel profoundly reflected the relationship between individual and collective, as well as problems between freedom, order and conditioning.
Sixteen images from the ‘No Where There’ series will be shown in this exhibition. The artist aims to explore the relationship between architecture, power and aesthetics. Through documenting the situations brought by tourism consumption and rapid urban development under the appearance of beautiful cityscapes, this series reflects a mass aesthetics trend and a lack of cultural identity recognition. Tang have photographed many European-style buildings in different cities in China, such as the ‘Arc de Triomphe’ on Guanggu road in Wuhan, Luodian Town in Shanghai, ‘Eiffel Tower’ in Hangzhou etc, recording the phenomenon of mimicry in architecture after the rapid urban and economic development.
The architectural styles of the replica buildings documented are different, including styles of northern European town, international landmarks, etc. Not only does it show the replication of their aesthetic appearances, but also presenting the difference between its imitation appearance and its inner function in public areas. The phenomenon exhibits the aesthetic demand on behalf of the local citizens, their expectation on lifestyle, identity and collective values. Observing these ongoing changes in the cities, by means of new documentary photography, the artist recorded the situation in acuity, within this context of urban development in China today: ‘Who built these buildings? Who are the users? What were the aesthetic views of the people who built them? How will people with such views affect Chinese society today?’
When: January 15–March 16, 2019
Where: 1844 Macau Photography Art Space, 17 Rua do Infante, Edf. Loi Fat, Lojas A–B, R/C, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, browse through the event’s Facebook page
