200 of these lamps were installed at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), a stunning visual of colours, shapes and textures. However, I’m not sure what to make out it conceptually, it’s pretty much the artist taking modern day society’s images and painting them with great imitation technique onto the lamp shades, seemingly without any deeper level of expression or message to convey. Apart from the ethereal beautiful visuals, I find the exhibit empty.
By transferring these provocative visuals onto something as mundane as the household lamp, Yang Yong reminds us of just how mainstream media sensationalism has become. For him and other members of China’s digital generation who grew up borrowing, spreading, sharing and appropriating images online, information overload and the media glut are just part of the scenery, as familiar as the furnishings in one’s home.
– Jérôme Sans, UCCA Director
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA)
- Tuesday — Sunday 10:00-19:00
- Adult 15 RMB
- Free on Thursdays
- 798 Art District, No.4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, P.O. Box 8503, Chaoyang District, Beijing, P.R.China, 100015
- Tel: +86 (0) 10 8459 9269/8459 9387
- More info at UCCA’s website
Cross post from Chicken Scrawling – Food. Fun & Life
