Open House Exhibition Series

Open House is an ongoing series of pop-up exhibitions presenting new work by emerging artists from 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier Chinese cities for one afternoon in a space that is for rent, sale or slated for demolition. There is no equivalent of the American concept Open House in Chinese, but the term Yangbanjian (样板间) conveys a similar feeling where real estate is on display for public consumption. Open House is designed to give people an opportunity to interact with contemporary art beyond the black and white box in a gallery or museum. ChART commissions artists to create a new project based on the Open House model and each project is on view for one Sunday afternoon between 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.

HUANG XIAOLIANG

LIVING IN OBLIVION

Sep 5, 2010

Huang Xiaoliang (b. 1985) uses shadows as a motif in his photographs to underscore the devastating impact of modernization on local people in his hometown, Changsha. For Open House: Living in Oblivion, Huang experimented with digital animation and created 4 projections accompanied by sounds recorded on the streets of Changsha. The work was installed on the walls of a 2-bedroom apartment located in a residential community surrounded by high rises. Residents remained oblivious to the demolition surrounding them, while Open House visitors walked up 5-flights to discover Living in Oblivion.

Huang Xiaoliang forces us to face the reality of passively living in an “artificial” post-industrial environment. Rather than preserve the natural beauty bestowed upon us, we are plagued by the ironic desire to consume our natural resources and destroy the landscape under the guise of modernization and development. As we strive for “success” and long for a “better” living standard, we make compromises that lead us farther and farther away from nature.