Developing Phantom

China is developing at breakneck speed. Social practices and landscapes are being eroded, warped and torn down – yet few have had the guts to tackle this with as much thought as 'Developing Phantom', a group exhibition bringing together the work of two young artists and two collectives, which holds more than a few shocks.

Photography and film by WAZA, the Wuhan-based artist collective founded by film director Hu Ge, both ushers you into the exhibition and marks your exit. After its 2007 exhibition 'WAZA KUZA', the group began involving the public in the art-making process. Here, it continues to include the public (albeit uncredited) in their works, with a series of amateurish photographs that occupy cheap-looking rectangular frames. These shots include everything from installations to a shirtless worker napping on a bench. It’s a chaotic selection, recording WAZA’s collaboration with what it calls ‘social youths’, although how they’re collaborating is left unclear.

In the room opposite is a far more striking work that immediately resuscitates interest. An eerie soundtrack accompanies 'Social Youth HD Movie' (2011), a gritty depiction of two young men who turn to violent, shockingly premeditated crimes; neither rape nor murder are directly shown, but viewers are left in no doubt as to their occurrence. Shabby apartment blocks and dry countryside merge with sparse dialogue and scenes of bored inaction to form a sinister portrait of disaffected youth in today’s China.

Like WAZA, Jiang Zhi explores issues of violence with 'Let There Be Light' (2006). In the middle of a dark, circular room shines a pale searchlight, which stops with a loud click to project a one-minute film. Anonymous figures confront a powerful spotlight, symbolising divine transformation, fame and brilliance; some try to stare out the damaging rays, others squirm. You come away with a visceral sense of discomfort, enriched by a cold contemplation of the human need to be heard.

Also on show are works by new collective Hexie Baroque that bring China’s development into a wider context with pieces such as 'Right Now' (2011). An artistic one-liner, it features an old TV looping a clip of President Obama announcing America will not accept anything but first place. On top stands a worn, upside-down table. Their work injects a dark humour into the exhibition, although it perhaps lacks the depth of WAZA and Jiang's.

One issue here is the utter lack of information, which leaves most visitors at a loss as to whose works belong to who (this has since been slightly improved). Nevertheless, they possess an uncanny ability to disturb, being visceral and, at times, unforgivingly satirical. Placed together, they lead visitors through changes in both China’s landscape and its people, enriching each other and forming a first-rate group exhibition. Clare Pennington




Originally posted in Time Out Beijing