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Opening Reception: Thursday, April 2nd, 5pm-8pm
Organized by guest-curator David Spalding, Curator at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing), the exhibition combines photography and a single video work, made roughly ten years apart, to examine the far-flung fantasies, grim realities and stark contradictions that often define life in China today.
A selection of prints from Liu Gang’s series, Paper Dream (2008), presents viewers with images appropriated from newspaper advertisements for upscale housing developments in Beijing. Shot with a macro lens in medium format (6 x 7), the images overflow with an absurd array of symbols that promise buyers a taste of the good life. Liu Gang’s series is not about luxury housing or the adverts that promote it per se. Instead, the artist remarks, “the works are about Chinese identity, as reflected in our dreams and desires.”
In contrast to the Photo-shopped follies in Liu Gang’s work, Wang Jianwei’s documentary video, Living Elsewhere (1997-1999), charts the daily existence of a group of farmers squatting in an abandoned complex of half-finished luxury villas in Sichuan Province. Documenting the stories of persons who are otherwise off the grid, Wang Jianwei focuses on the details of their domestic experience to comment on the schisms between luxury and poverty, aspiration and actuality that are symptomatic of the economic and social transformation China continues to experience.
About SF Camerawork
Founded in 1974, SF Camerawork encourages emerging and mid-career artists to explore new directions in photography and related media by fostering creative forms of expression that push existing boundaries. Throughout its history, SF Camerawork has nurtured artists, mentored youth and helped make San Francisco a destination for the exploration of photography as an artist’s medium. Its exhibitions are nationally recognized as a focal point for innovation, a pacesetter for new trends in the medium and a launching pad for the careers of young artists. With three galleries and an education center at its new centrally located facility, SF Camerawork is the only non-profit organization in the Bay Area with an exhibition space and educational programs focused exclusively on contemporary photography and related visual image media. It is an accessible venue for people to view exhibitions, meet artists, participate in educational programs, peruse photographic publications, and gather for lectures, screenings, portfolio reviews, and discussions.
All exhibitions are on view Tuesdays – Saturdays 12-5 p.m.
SF Camerawork, 657 Mission St., 2ndFloor
Admission is $5.00; $2.00 for students and seniors; free to Camerawork members
