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SHOWstudio: Today/Tomorrow: Chinese Art

1,625 views · Published 16 August 2012 · 56:24 · Indexed 26 September 2026

Channel: SHOWstudio · 2012 · Education

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As part of the exhibition 'Death', SHOWstudio plays host to contemporary artists Le Guo, Sheng Qi and Haili Sun, and academic Voon Pow Bartlett for a discussion around the show's central piece, the Gao Brothers' 'The Execution of Christ'.

The Gao Brothers have consistently produced highly politicised work, which tackle subjects of oppression, violence, hypocrisy and authoritarianism, most commonly through grandiose visual narratives. However, this has not been an easy trajectory to follow, particularly under the strictures and censorship imposed by the Chinese authorities throughout their career.

That trajectory is mimicked by the artists featured in this discussion who have also experienced the limits on expression that are prevalent in China, and have an insight into how this censorship has changed and developed, particularly since the 1980s. Using this as a spring board for the conversation, our speakers discuss their own practice in the context of the wider situation in China and pick apart the implications of its turbulent recent history on contemporary art today.

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