Watch: A Clip From Wang GongXin's Video Installation 'My Sun'
If you are in New York, you have a little more than a month to catch the video installation by Chinese artist Wang GongXin at Asia Society Museum. Entitled My Sun, the large, three-channel work was created in 2000 and "explores the rise of individualism in modern Chinese society." We've embedded a taste at the top of this post, and here's a little more detail from the official exhibition description:
The video features an elderly peasant woman who first appears in the middle of a barren landscape. As she struggles to cultivate the field, a shining light emerges from the horizon. As she looks toward the light, her image multiplies to cover the landscape. The light gradually diminishes and eventually extinguishes itself in the palms of her hands. The image of the rising sun is a direct reference to Mao Zedong and was frequently used in Communist propaganda materials. The rural imagery evokes the memory of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), when spending time laboring in the countryside with peasants was required of all educated Chinese youths in the late 1960s.
The exhibition runs through August 5, 2012. For more information, and more about Wang, please visit Asia Society New York's homepage.
Tell us what you think of the video clip in a comment!