ARTISTS TALKING

# 1 [3 February 2009]

www.sanderssarah.blogspot.com

www.artscouncil.org.uk

# 2 [18 February 2009]

Beginning the residency. 

This work marks the start of the residency. I want to try and steer away from drawing or at least from repeating my previous work in drawing on paper. I want to use this residency as a way of approaching new work. I then found myself drawing with objects from the studio. This work relates to what I have observed outside the studio and the research I began in the UK around the history of Chinese calligraphy and painting.  

# 3 [19 February 2009]

Second evening in Chongqing. Went to a restaurant devoted to Chairman Mao. It was very popular amongst the locals. All the staff were dressed in communist clothing, it was fantastic. There was dancing on stage with giant sunflowers and ribbons. It was very colourful....I wasn't even sure you could talk about Chairman Mao in China. I was wrong. 

# 4 [19 February 2009]

501 was built by the Russian in 1950-60's and was used to make tanks. Many other artists spaces such as 102 and Tank loft were used to produce warfare.

The military can be occasionally spotted at night driving tanks through the streets with flashing red lights.

The military can dance and showed the world their skills during the Olympics.

http://www.501artspace.org/

501 is run by artists, scholars and student volunteers. 

# 5 [19 February 2009]

Fu Uxiang's uses ink on canvas and his works touch on the history of Chinese painting, buddhism, dream and reality and Chinese philosophy. His work questions life and the fate of life. 

Zhengli uses acrylic on canvas and his works respond to the social condition, the effects of gentrification and the future. He will be artist in residence at QUAD, Derby, in May-July 2009. 

http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/ar...

Ren Qian is not interested in technical problems only the idea. Collecting water from rivers from Tibet to London or wearing Tiananmen Square like a crown. 

http://blog.sina.com.cn/renqian9 

Shen Hua 

Paints the local Ban Ban people who are the famous bamboo carriers in Chongqing. In Huanjiaping the Ban Ban are very important in the artist community and can be seen doing anything from carrying huge canvases, posing as life models or moving furniture in artists studios. Mostly, I see them playing cards and smoking in the street, and they always smile at me.  

In other areas of the city they do much harder work and not so kindly treated. I saw many lifting huge pieces of concrete and singing songs to keep their spirits up.

The Ban Ban are quite a romantic and popular subject for artists.  

Other artists 

Mao Yan Yang did a residency at Chinese Arts Centre during Asia Triennial Manchester 08. His work touches on protest and mediation.

www.maoyanyang.com 

www.chinese-arts-centre.org 

www.asiatriennialmanchester.com  

Fan You Rong

http://blog.sina.com.cn/fanyourong126 

# 6 [19 February 2009]

Huangjueping and the area

Huangjueping is uncomfortably polluted. A power station looms close to the studio and apartment. This area is remarkably similar to the areas where the students reside in Manchester. There is rubbish and food particles and body liquids sprayed all over the street. The area is catered for the local residents with hairdressers, clothes shops, bars, restaurants, mobile phone shops, supermarkets, street markets, bakers, household shops, framers, art shops, internet, banks, a post office, buses and taxis.  

Yangjiaping is a short bus ride away and costs 1 yuan. The bus skirts along the Yangzi river. Yangjiaping is an extremely modern part of town complete with Startbucks, Pizza Hut, KFC, Carrefour, expensive clothes shops and shopping centres resembling Selfridges. The well off enjoy‘hanging out' with friends and fashioning off their laptops.

6 Years ago there was only one Mcdonalds in the whole of China situated in Beijing and hardly anyone spoke english. Today, all children are taught english in school, access to the west is open, buildings are erected in a couple of months and classes are extremely divided.

1 pound = 1 Yuan and falling 

Art Education

There are 6,000 art students living in Huangjiaping. It costs about 200,000 yuan for the students to train in art before applying to do a BA at the Sichuan School of Art of which 5-10 % find a place for BA. The BA is 4 years and costs 15,000 Yuan per year. A Masters is 3 years and costs 13,000 per year. The students learn English, Chinese poetry and literature, politics, as well as art history, painting, drawing, design etc. At the final year of BA the students can practice on their own and there is 2 years solo practice at Masters. There is an exam at the end of the BA that tests the imagination and skills of the student. For the lucky few there are scholarships. However, for almost all art students education is afforded by rich parents and the benefits are; ample opportunity to exhibit and make money.

# 7 [19 February 2009]

11 Rooms. Yang Shu is an important figure in Chongqing. He organises many exchanges for artists in Europe and Chongqing. Such as Angela Euder from germany and the duo LLND from France. 

LLND are a collaboration who make sound and visual work.

http://www.legrandbazart.com/LGBS4/category/kronik...

http://www.myspace.com/pechou

http://www.llnd.fr

# 8 [1 March 2009]

I stopped making my own Chinese characters because they felt too contrived. I had a lot of ideas and needed to start to focus. The first image shows at a key stage in the development of my work using words. I wrote stop and then it felt like I had already started something. Writing stop felt like a kind of release. Since I had stopped I could start. These words of non action and action began to shape this work in a series of drawings. 

# 9 [1 March 2009]

Jinse Gallery is situated at Chaotianmen Square at the east end of the peninsula, Chaotianmen Square, where the Jialing river meets the Yangtze river. A Large modern commerial gallery supported without finanical aid from the government, and the only one of it's kind in Chongqing. Works by Chen Qiji, Chinese Family 2008, Shi Pi and British artist, Oliver Gosling was on display and can be seen on the following link.

http://www.jinseart.com/

# 10 [1 March 2009]

Eling Park

Eling Park is an idyllic way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Situated on top of a hill about an hours walk uphill from the light-rail station, Li Zi Ba. From this height one gets an impression of the size and density of the  enormous district, Jiangbei across the Jialing river despite the mist. The view is mystical and creates a back drop to this hidden oasis. There are many small and pretty gardens to stroll through. It is spring and I saw white lily's and red oriental trees in flower. I passed a Chinese pond covered by a typical Chinese roof with round thresholds and quiet textured enclosures for romantic couples. I found an enclosure where many older people were dancing to two keyboard players and a singer.