Lately I have been doing a research on Chinese female artists/painters in the present history. The idea came from my last-minute-studying on one of the exhibitions that we will visit in Paris (next week!) which is called elles@centrepompidou, a thematic exhibition held by the French National Modern Art Museum. By half way through the “Elles”, a book on exhibition with almost 400 pages and tons of pictures for over 200 female artists worldwide, I didn’t find any Chinese female artistes’ names/works. I suddenly realize: even as a native Chinese, I could give you lists of influential Chinese female authors/performers/film directors, but not a single name of a female artists/painters from the present day. Some homework has to be done.
During the research, a female artist XiaoLu (肖鲁, 1962–) really stands out. Indeed, the contemporary art in China is a man’s world. Yet XiaoLu, has set the contemporary art history’s landmark in China with 2 gun shorts she fired as a part of her experimental artwork in 1989 (shown in the picture above). I was a kid back then but I don’t think many of the other Chinese would have known or were aware of this incident which actually swirled the politic and society within and beyond China (omen of the TianAnMen Square massacre shortly afterward). For me, the most fascinating part comes from after 15 years in 2003 when XiaoLu ravealed for the first time of her version of the story: 26 years old, just broke up with boyfriend, frustrated, disappointed and also confused by relationship between male/female, she designed that collaborative piece “conversation” as expression of intimate feelings and with gun shots to also voice out a feeling of “break down”–a pure artistic experiment of a young woman’s inside world without any political intention that claimed by the others later on.
Interestingly XiaoLu made another piece called “15 gun shots– from 1989 to 2003” when she separated from her 15-years long living partner Tong Song, who helped to set up the “conversation” and became her lover afterwards. XiaoLu commented on her work “15 years long, no marriage, no kids, all the way he wants. To me, love is the life’s ideal and I am living for it… I have forgotten myself.” “15 years ago I shot the “me” in the mirror; 15 years after I shot the “me” by facing myself… we are done.”
In XiaoLu’s case, an artwork is tied with her personal life/fate when it implemented with particular time and place. Today XiaoLu is still working on sculptures in her studio in Beijing. (see photos below)
2. A full story on what on earth happend in the 1989 incident that made XiaoLu a star (in Chinese)
Click on for a short summary of XiaoLu’s achievement after 1989
the last 2 photos from Mr. Lin Fei’s blog
A Chinese Docent 