Counterpoints, a two-person exhibition of work by contemporary Chinese artist Lu Chunsheng (b. 1968, Changchun, Jilin, China and Jia Aili (b.1979, Liaoning, China) at the Institute of International Visual Arts, London.
Both artists reflect on industrial progress, social corrosion and the individual’s struggle in the machine age. Lu Chunsheng’s exhibition presented his new single-channel work that received its UK premiere.
The first man who bought a juicer bought it not for drinking juice, which mixes documentary and fantasy to theatrical effect. The characters in the film are both human and mechanical and represent the consequences of the globalised era in their repetition of senseless acts.
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Lu Chunsheng graduated from the China National Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Sculpture. He has exhibited widely in China and abroad. He resides and works in Shanghai. His exhibitions include the 27th Bienal de Sao Paulo (2006); China Power Station: Part I, Battersea Power Station, (London, UK, 2006); China Contemporary Art, Architecture and Visual Culture, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (Rotterdam, 2006); The Thirteen: Chinese Video Now, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center (New York, 2006); Out of Sight, De Appel Foundation (Amsterdam, 2005); Double Vision, 1st Lianzhou International Foto Festival (2005); and Zooming Into Focus: Chinese Contemporary Photography and Video from Haudenschild Collection, National Art Museum (Beijing, 2005); and subsequently in Mexico City and Shanghai.
The first man who bought a juicer bought it not for drinking juice is the product of a residency at Artpace San Antonio, Texas, organised by Hans Ulrich Obrist. The film was commissioned by Artpace San Antonio and supported by ShanghART Gallery, China. The work subsequently toured Newcastle in partnership with CIRCA Contemporary Art Projects as part of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, a programme of international artists moving image.
