Untitled (Dancing Partner), 2010, 5’15’’ / Untitled (Festival), 2011, 5’14’’
Para/Site, Hong Kong, China. www.para-site.org.hk
Untitled (Festival) is set in an urban context. The film depicts the journey of a person through a city filled with rubble and debris. With an air of tranquility the individual picks up a sheet of paper, he lights it and throws it to the ground. The scene comes to that effect for the duration of the video: the man walks on, throwing to the ground, occasionally, a piece of paper on fire, while passersby do not seem to notice anything. The artist wants to show how people seem to passively accept the conditions imposed on them: so used to accept without protest they are no longer able to distinguish what could harm them or lead to a radical restriction of liberty .
In Untitled (Dancing Partners) two identical cars, same model, same color, move within the city traffic steadily maintaining the minimum allowed speed: 60 miles per hour. On a freeway the fact of being subject to this limit leads to a situation of great inconvenience to other drivers who are forced to slow their pace to suit the slow march of the two cars. Through this simple gesture, the two cars dictate the pattern of other traffic, creating many difficulties for circulation. The artist wants to offer a representation of how, in today's society, the majority is guided by a small minority of individuals who, while apparently acting within the law, often only serve to protect their own interests, by interfering in life and affirmation of collective freedom.
Liu Chuang (China, 1978) is an artist currently based in Beijing. He was graduated from Hubei Institute of Fine Arts in 2001. He has exhibited at National Art Museum of China, Beijing, 2011; CAFAM Biennale Super-organism, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, 2011; Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, 2011; Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin, 2010; Berlin 2010; Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing, 2010; New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, 2009.
Liu Chuang works in public space in wich he acts to change the perception of reality through the deconstruction and destruction of roles and models of society. He attempts to reveal what lies behind the apparent normality of everyday life. His speeches are full of ethical, political and philosophical meaning and aims to raise awareness of the observer on the topics covered.