Contemporary Chinese Photography @ Private Museum, Singapore


Cang Xin - Man and the Sky as One: Mani Stone (2005
"To Add a Meter to an Unknown Mountain: An Iconic Collection of Contemporary Chinese Photography" is a new, small exhibition running until Oct 30 at the Private Museum, which features strong works by four internationally renowned Chinese artists - Cang Xin, Liu Wei, Ma Liuming and Zhan Wang.

I especially liked the huge photograph of Cang Xin (above), which looks like a photo-montage, but is not. The Beijing-based performance artist (who is laying naked down by the rock) actually took the shoot of an existing sacred lake near Tibet, which is surrounded by stone writings (as seen in the bottom right) without any manipulation, but for the color. The artist was in town for the opening and explained the photograph was taken early morning in the freezing cold (-5C). THe lake, the mountain, the stones are exactly as this, the only difference with reality are the accents of colors he chosen. Interestingly the artist was also involved in the performance for the photograph below by Ma Liuming.

Ma Liuming

This is an extremely small exhibition due to the space and the rather large photographs, but well-worth a visit if you happen to be in the area (51 Waterloo St), although you do need to make an appointment before visiting the space as it is not open to the public.

Liu Wei - Landscapre No 2.



Zhan Wang