Through the Body: Lens-based works by Contemporary Chinese Women Artists
Curated by Matthew Brower, Fu Xiaodong, Yan Zhou
University of Toronto Art Centre, 15 Kings College Circle, Toronto
29 April to 28 June, 2014
Chen Zhe, Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Fan Xi, Fang Lu, Jin Hua, Ladybird Theatre, Lei Benben, Li Xinmo, Ma Qiusha, Ye Funa
A Primary Exhibition of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival
Organized by UTAC and CONTACT
Through the Body will be the largest exhibition of lens-based work by contemporary Chinese women artists to be mounted outside of China. Focusing on photography and video, the exhibition is structured by the Chinese concept Ti Shi, which can be defined as the act of learning through bodily experience.
Each of the selected artists creates works that make visible an emerging range of Chinese femininities and offer new models for the contemporary experience of Chinese women. Gesturing toward new possibilities, this show foregrounds contemporary Chinese women's situations and articulates new gender identities informed by the rapid changes in China's traditional values and social and economic structures.
Installation Map
Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Chen Zhe, The Bearable (2007-10). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Ma Qiusha, Us (2010). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Ma Qiusha, From No. 4 Pingyuanli to No.4 Tianqiaobeili (2007). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Li Xinmo, Death of the Xinkai River (2008). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Ladybird Theatre, Riding in a Rollercoaster Flying to the Future (2013). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Fang Lu, Artists are Lovers (Part 1) (2012). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Ye Funa, Family Album (2010). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Fan Xi, Up Front (2011-14). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
REVIEWS
Cynthia Foo, “Report: Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival,” AfterImage, 42.2, 2014, 2-3.
Magdalyn Asimakis, “CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto, 2014: Blog Post Four. Through The Body,” Blackflash, June 4, 2014.
Christine Platt with Liuyi Zhang, “Intimate yet universal: Chinese women’s experiences artistically explored at Contact 2014,” Artoronto.ca, May 9, 2014.
Autumn Ou, “Through the Body,” OMNI TV News Mandarin, May 5, 2014.
Fran Schechter and David Jager, “Contact Photography Festival: 25 can’t-miss shows,” Now Magazine, May 1, 2014.