\"Miao Xiaochun\" (\"Contemporary\", 2007)

MIAO XIAOCHUN Z HUANG WUBIN

AboYe from lop 'New Urban Reolrty'ICrl)oi, 2006. 'New Urban Reolrty' Uvmp). 2005 Opposrle from lop 'New Urban Reolrty' ICefebrolron). 2004 'A Visilof from the Post'IMrroge). 2004 Allrmoges coo~esy:

BEUING-BASED Mioo Xioochun is fascinated in seeing the world through multiple perspectives. But os a photographer, more often than not, he finds himself lighting against the camera, which only allows a singular view. In the 'A Visitor from the Post' series, his first major work shot in Germany- where he was a fellow at the Kunsthochschule Kossel I 1995·9) - and China, Mioo would use a life-size mannequin bearing his own fea tures, but dressed in traditional robes and with his hair in on elaborate topknot, os the recurring protagonist, so that viewers would also consider each scene from the perspective of his alter ego, thereby generating a sense of dualism. In Capitol (2003) (from the series) digital technology is used to alter the perspectives across different ports of the image according to the principle of 'three distances' (son yuan). which is the compositionol basis of Chinese ink paintings. If the scene were photographed in the usual manner, the lady in the foreground would be much bigger, thus dominating the picture. In fact, the landscape was shot using o long lens while the foreground was shot using a standard lens. They were then merged together digitally. Although it seems os though Mioo has used digita l post·production merely to resolve o technical issue, this is not the case. What he wants to convey is the way he looks at the world, which is to consider os many details and perspectives os possible. Transition to his second body of work, 'New Urban Reality' (2004-6). is characterised by the retirement of the mannequin and a more subtle incorporation of Chinese aesthetics, particularly the concept of scattered locus: 'For on image like Celebration (2004). !took numerous pictures of the scene - the inauguration of Beijing SOHO- using a long lens and then constructed the wide-angle view digitally', explains Miao, who did art history for his postgraduate studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Bei jing. 'Within the some image, you will see the some person taking photos at one point and then talking to friends in another. Working in this manner it is os

the artist

though I'm shooting video within the context of photography.' Clearly, Mica's approach to digital photography is different from other artists, who normally use the technology to articulate their imagination. Instead, M iao has used it to reaffirm and challenge the artistic and cultural traditions of China and, more recenlly, of Renaissance Europe. In his 3D work The Lost judgement in Cyberspoce (2006). Mioo employs the technology used by architects and Hollywood filmmakers to deconstruct the crowning achievement of Renaissance art, Michelangelo's Lost judgement (1535). By replacing a lithe characters with the some image of himself rendered in monochrome and wearing a deadpan expression, he destroys the demarcation between the judge and those being judged. '! think the burden of judgement is a heavy one. lt is very hard to say who is to go to heaven and who is to go to hell,' Miao comments. 'During the Cultural Revolution, everybody wonted to leave the cities and serve the poor in rural C hina, even though they knew the situation there was very backward. My sister was a lso determined - even thrilled - to go until my parents cooked up an excuse to hold her back.' In other words, happiness or sadness is entirely subjective. Under a different set of circumstances, the perception of happiness, or heaven, will change. In this sense, it is possible to see The Lost judgment in Cyberspoce as a metaphor for global politics today, particularly the war on terrorism. 'However, art is always abstract,' says Miao, who now teaches at the Department of Photography and Digital Media, CAFA. 'The interpretations that you can make from the series are symbolic, indirect and never literal. Ultimately, art is concerned about the wider issues of humanity and not something as concrete as politics or conflic ts.'

Z HANG WUBIN IS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND WRITER BASED IN S INGAPORE