Generation Me: Lost in Transition

Vernissage: 8 March 2012,   6:30pm - 8:30pm
Exhibition Continues: 8 March 2012 - 7 April 2012

This year, Schoeni Art Gallery will be presenting Generation Me: Lost in Transition – Niubi Newbie Project, which runs from 9 March to 7 April. This much-anticipated exhibition is the sequel to the groundbreaking Niubi Newbie Kids in 2008 and Niubi Newbie Kids II in 2009.

Continuing in the tradition of the previous Niubi shows, this exhibition uncovers new talents—cool, young, and emerging artists from Mainland China born in the 1980’s. They are the offspring of China’s one child policy, this age group is referred to as the China’s ‘Me’ generation and consists of individuals who have been heavily influenced by the internet, social networks, blogs, smart phones, comics, video games, digitalisation, and globalisation. For this particular Niubi exhibition, the focus explores a situation that is prevalent to China’s post-80’s generation – the generation that is ‘lost in transition’ from academic life to working life. Particularly for those who have chosen to pursue art as a career, individuals of the ‘Me’ generation commonly face struggles upon graduation from art academies and enter the so-called ‘work force’. Overnight, they encounter the harsh reality of real life, as they leave school to become professional artists. The ‘Me’ generation strives to overcome feelings of helplessness, disorientation, and alienation, while attempting to find a foothold in the art scene, which is full of opportunities and resources, but simultaneously vast, subjective, competitive, and merciless.

Situated in a country that is undergoing rapid transformations, and in the ever-evolving art world and market, how do artists at this stage of their career cope with this transition and move forward? The academies, while providing thorough training in craftsmanship and art history and theory, do not actually teach them anything about surviving in the real world and developing their careers. Through their works, each artist expresses with raw originality and youthful energy his or her unique experiences, feelings, aspirations, and frustrations, sometimes with a cynical or whimsical take.

*’Niubi’ is a slang swear word used often among Beijing youngsters. There is no official English translation, but it would be something along the lines of ‘F&%$ing cool’.

Participating Artists:

Han Yajuan

Born in 1980 in Qingdao, Shandong Province, Han Yajuan trained at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou and at the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, from which she obtained her B.A. and M.F.A. in 2002 and 2008, respectively. Works to be showcased in the exhibition include her latest pieces from 2011, paintings such asJamais vu, and Regimented Chic from her first ever series of sculptures. Her sharp and elegant female characters rendered in anime aesthetics illustrate her translation of the ideal life for young ladies of her generation. Empowered by work, independent and free from gender discrimination, they express their individuality and build confidence through personal fashion choices. Han Yajuan currently lives and works in Beijing.

Liu Guangguang

Born in 1986 in Gansu Province, Liu Guangguang trained at the Visual Communication Design Department of Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Liaoning Province, graduating in 2009. Works to be showcased include Hiding in a Corner Series No. 2 and Rainbow and Deer. His oil paintings depict a deer in different stages of maturity, hence the presence or absence of antlers, in unnatural and chaotic urban settings. His works symbolise the pain and melancholy of growing up in today’s confusing modern world. Liu Guangguang currently lives and works in Beijing.

Zhang Qiang

Born in 1982 in Handan, Hebei Province, Zhang Qiang was trained at the Hebei Normal University from which he graduated in 2006. The exhibition will feature his installation pieces including his Labour Series, which is the artist’s personal reflection on the concept of “labour” and how his childhood experiences of physical labour in the fields compare to the present day labour with a job in the city. As the artist asks: why must everyone have a job after growing up? This is perhaps one question that everyone asks themselves at least once in a life time but will never have the perfect answer to. Zhang Qiang currently lives and works in Beijing.