It was in the exhibition titled "AVANT-GARDE CHINA 20 YEARS OF CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART” (2008-2009, National Museum of Art, Osaka) that I saw Yang Fudong’s work for the first time. The video installation exhibited was “No Snow on the Broken Bridge” (2006). That was composed of 8 synchronized screens, and each screen had impressive scenes of several young men and women in desolated landscapes. The “loosely structured” (ShanghART Gallery’s description) narrative was filled with suspenseful atmosphere. And among all those moving fragments, I was fascinated by the boats slowly drifting across waters. Tears sprang to my eyes. After that experience, I have been immersed in his works and impressed in the beautiful and plaintive images of liquid (especially water) which are ubiquitous on the screens. We can easily find the good example if we see any of those works on the site of ShanghART Gallery.
Now, I would like to talk about “First Spring”, his work for PRADA SPRING/SUMMER 2010. I know it was just a little bit dated (one year ago!). This delay is mainly because of my laziness (of course!), but partly because of my ambivalent feeling for this film. Honestly speaking, I don’t care much for this kind of image of flying men with an umbrella and a bag (or should I say, it is uncomfortable for me). “Mary Poppins” is one of my favorite children’s books but the musical film of “Mary Poppins” just embarrasses me. That is to say, I have never seen the visual representation of flying better than the literature.
But, on the other hand, “First Spring” has a breathtaking piece. That is the sequential action of serving and drinking alcohol and tea (it appears from 5’41” to 6’52”). Here, you meet the theme of liquid again! At first, alcohol is served from a bottle to a glass and a man lifts the glass to his lips. Then a suspicious waiter with a thin smile about his lips emerges quietly from behind and serves tea from the teapot to teacups. One man in suit and two women in traditional clothes put their teacups together and hold tea in their mouth. This is a fascinating moment and I am sure that the film reaches its climax.
It should be the interpretation without much thought to consider this sequence a conflict between the Occident and the Orient, even if that had been the aim of the artist (I hope not…). All we have to do is to recollect the image of drinking in “Honey (mi)” (2003). (We can watch that on ShanghART Gallery.). In that video, a man in black-framed glasses drinks tea from the teacup with the lid. He drinks tea with great relish and I can feel even astringency from the movement of his mouth. Unexpectedly, we witness the best drinking image, in this video of the charming but somewhat plaintive legs wearing fishnet stockings.
