•Yang Zhenzhong, Liang Shaoji, Xu Zhen, Shi Yong: The Building Alive

Yang Zhenzhong

 

 

Option THREE:
 
The Building Alive (Yang Zhenzhong, Liang Shaoji, Xu Zhen, Shi Yong)
 
Idea/Reason:  The architecture of the building is very strong, the design perfect. Every artistic addition risks to be degraded to a Ronald-McDonald-kind of superfluous sign.
 
So the following artists choose more conceptual works which mostly don’t interfere with the overall architecture of the building.
 
They take elements up from Shanghais ‘mania’ of lighting buildings in the night (Yang Zhenzhong), put an element of quite-ness and humanity in the daily rush (Xu Zhen), remind on the basics of the new Shanghai, while saving them for future generations (Liang Shaoji) or just add an element of joy (Shi Yong)
A) Drop-off / North Center Yang Zhenzhong ‘Sleeping as a Therapy’
Strong lights mounted on the bottom of a hole in the ground, the lights go on, get stronger and go off synchronized to the sound of a sleeping person.
Daytime there is no light and sound, just the whole in the ground with the safety fences. The lights go on when the day gets dark.
 
Material: strong theater lights, loudspeakers, synchronizer, safety fence.
 
The Artist: Yang Zhenzhong was born 1968 in Hangzhou. He studied at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou. He is one of the most creative video and installation artists in China. He participated at the Venice Biennale this year and last year at the Shanghai Biennale and has shown widely nationally and internationally.

Yang Zhenzhong Artist Page

 

Liang Shaoji

B) Outdoor plaza area / South East Corner Liang Shaoji ‘Arch’

Thousands of old Shanghai houses (Li Long houses) are torn down to make place for the new city. Parts of old house doors and arches are collected from the destruction sites are collected and build to a new arch. Two sides of the new arches are made flat with cement and metal wires are put in them so they look like an integrated circuit board of a computer.

Material: Stones from old Shanghai Li Long Houses, cement, metal

Weight: 20’000kg

The Artist: Liang Shaoqi: Born in 1945 in Shanghai, graduated from Zhejiang Academy of Fine Art, won the title of "Arts and Crafts Master of China" (appointed by China National Light Industry Ministry).

Living today 10 hours away from Shanghai in a small place, without fax and e-mail, he still showed widely in China and participated basically in every major Biennale around the world (Venice, Istanbul, Shanghai, Lyan etc.). His works are in private and public collections in Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou.

Xu Zhen

C) Lobby / North East Corner: Xu Zhen : The Reader

A small, double floor room is build inside the Azia Centre. Somebody will be there every day for 50 years, he has no special duties, is just reading books, waiting, be there and available if people ask questions or just want to talk.

Material:

Total cost: usd100’000 for salary

The Artist: Xu Zhen, born 1977 in Shanghai, studied at the Shanghai School of Arts and Crafts. He participated at the Venice Biennale 2001 and at many national and international exhibitions. He is the driving force at an artists-run art centre in Shanghai and one of the most creative and controversial of the young artists in Shanghai today.

Xu Zhen Artist Page

Shi Yong

 

D) GF Lift Lobbies / End walls Shi Yong: Tears of Happiness

One big shape in the form of a tear, inside a

a video filmed out of the open roof of a car, with the sky, houses etc of Shanghai, the images get faster and faster still they are blurred, just shades of colors

the second video is similar, but not the sky, just shoes and legs of people walking faster and faster.

Material: Stainless steel with video inside

The Artist: Shi Yong was born in 1963 in Shanghai and lives and works in Shanghai. He has participated at the Shanghai Biennale 2002, Biennale of Sao Paolo and many other exhibitions. He is one of the leading New Media artists in China, works often with internet projects. His sculptures stand in many places in Shanghai e.g. at Nanjing Rd in front of the Shanghai TV Building.

Shi Yong Artist Page

 

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