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Stunning Electronic Multimedia Art Exhibit Opens at The Opposite House
09-21-2009
"Memories" by Liu Dao
"LED City" by Island 6 on display beginning October 16
(Beijing, September 21, 2009) The Shanghai-based multidisciplinary art collective Island 6 (Liu Dao) will present their exhibition "LED City" at The Opposite House beginning October 16 and running through December. In addition to its permanent collection of unique pieces by noted Asian artists, the "LED City" exhibition is part of The Opposite House's on-going presentations of contemporary Chinese works by young artists. Exhibitions are rotated four times per year.
Nine international artists worked together to create the innovative "LED City" pieces. The collective at Island 6 engaged in the use of electronics as a creative vehicle in their art making process. All pieces run on power, with the lights and colors from the art pieces providing a dramatic backdrop for guests entering The Opposite House.
Red Gate director Brian Wallace says "LED City will animate and illuminate the atrium space of The Opposite House, enticing and mesmerizing the unsuspecting visitor. The repetitive, soundless performances, inspired by age old issues contextualized by the pace of the 21st century in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, are deftly executed by the mastery of the technology employed by Island 6."
For some, technology is a tool to help make life easier and automate daily functions. For others, it is a way to effortlessly and powerfully communicate with other people around the globe. For the artists of the art collective at Liu Dao, technology is all of these things and much more. With their influence and interpretation, technology becomes organic and digital reality comes alive, as it begins to speak, dream, conspire, and seduce.
Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rear Window' (1954) and Brian De Palma's 'Body Double' (1984), LED City allows a glimpse into ones' lives through the exposed moments in the series of artworks. The artworks do not impose a particular mindset but encourages the feeling of voyeurism. In a context of cities in the People's Republic of China, even the little LED glimpses seem to become voyeuristic fantasies that could be classified as a new artphilia-a desire that makes a person want to engage in fantasies with artwork.
The LED towers physically restrict the images within them and are a window for seeing others and to be seen by others. Choreographers Wu Yandan and Li Lingxi reveal only fragments.
ATM Machine
"ATM Machine" depicts an LED 'white-collar' marching with a rifle in his hands expressing a constant fight for being the one at the top in the hierarchy of consumerism, surviving the pressure of society and living up to the expectations of yourself and your family.
Liu Dao's towers offer a glimpse into a spectrum of feelings and problems that are well protected by the walls. The video loops reveal a range of emotions and repeated patterns and lifestyles, reminiscent of the endless circle of male and female needs. Each piece of work is a question mark, a small inquisition within yourself-within your own window.
"We are delighted to be once again working with Red Gate Gallery who has provided The Opposite House with so much of its stunning contemporary art in the past. The work of Liu Dao will definitely bring another visually stimulating discussion to the atrium," says general manager Anthony Ross.
About Red Gate Gallery
Founded in 1991 by Australian Brian Wallace, Red Gate has been the platform for many of China's leading artists. Most Red Gate artists have been with the gallery for over 15 years and have accurately described the incredible change in China by addressing many of the toughest social issues with a critical and accurate eye.
Hundreds of artists have participated in the gallery's highly acclaimed International Artist in Residence Program, resulting in a unique exchange opportunity for Chinese and foreign artists in Beijing.
About Liu Dao
Liu Dao is an international multidisciplinary art collective based in Shanghai (P.R.C) established in 2007 by Island 6 Arts Center (island6.org), under the auspices of French curator Thomas Charvériat and Latvian art director Zane Mellupe. The group is comprised of performance and multimedia artists as well as engineers and tech geeks concentrating on body and movement research in electronic art, often incorporating the aspect of human interactivity.
The work presented at The Opposite House concentrates on the juxtaposition and interaction of the body and perceived persona with aspects of popular technology, using it to enhance or exaggerate physical characteristics and movements to produce hypernatural representational portraits of the human form.
Videos:
http://www.island6.org/Appearances.html
http://www.island6.org/Headhunting.html
http://www.island6.org/OnTheEdge.html
About Swire Hotels
Swire Hotels has been created to manage intriguing urban hotels in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the United Kingdom, providing a luxury experience for travelers who seek individuality, style and personalized service.
The Opposite House, Beijing, opened in 2008 and will be followed by the opening of a 117-room small intimate hotel, The Upper House, in Pacific Place, Hong Kong, in October 2009 and, in the future, a 90-room hotel at TaiKoo Hui in Guangzhou. Swire Hotels will open a 345-room lifestyle business hotel called EAST in Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong, in January 2010.
In the United Kingdom, Swire Hotels is developing a collection of stylish boutique hotels in interesting English towns and cities to be launched in 2010.
About The Opposite House
The Opposite House is located in The Village at Sanlitun-a vibrant new open-plan shopping, dining and entertainment destination developed by Swire Properties. The hotel's 99 guest studios, including nine spacious suites and a penthouse duplex with a 2600 square foot roof terrace, are amongst the largest in Beijing. More than half of the property's studios are over 750 square feet and all are strikingly simple with natural wooden floors and subtle touches of Chinese décor.
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