Weng Fen's Beautiful New World

By Gu Zhengqing, curator

With the rising of China, the issue of modernity has become the top priority across the country. It is, I believe, also one of the key issues the Chinese contemporary art community has to address. Nevertheless, despite a huge number of artists who like to advocate their Chinese identity, few have made any attempt to express their thoughts on this special phenomenon. Weng Fen is one of the few artists who have created many series of work to depict the changes of urban residents’ mentality as well as the discrepancy between their expectation and the reality of the society, both caused by the nation’s rapid economic development in a global setting. His works include “On the Wall” photo series (2001), “Bird's Eye” photo series (2002), installation “Viewing Stand” (2003) and “Staring at the Sea” photo series. The photos taken by Weng Fen always leave the viewers with a complicated sensation that recedes slowly. In his works, issues of traditional and modern life, economic globalization and China’s own path, as well as the unbalanced development in the urban consumer society are intertwined in the common background of modernity. Therefore, his work brings out subtle emotions that used to hide deep in our minds, leading to strong and irresistible emotional fluctuations. We also get the feeling of becoming an integral part of the pictures: standing right behind the girls in his “On The Wall” and “Bird's Eye” series, we are looking in the same direction at the gigantic modern cities. Instead of being in an ecstasy of delight, we, as a part of the development process toward modernization, inevitably experience a timeless solitude and great mental burden. Compared with the thin girls in the pictures, it is us that appear to be lost more deeply in a state of helplessness.

Weng Fen continues his exploration of the modernity issue by turning out new pieces of work, hoping to find a solution. His work in 2005, “Building with Eggs”, is one such attempt. This project was started at the end of 2004 and has been widely known to the Chinese art community since then. Due to the huge amount of work it requires, it was finished only recently in August, 2005. Around ten thousand chicken eggs and slightly fewer duck and quail eggs with their contents removed were used in the project to constitute an 8×4×1m miniature model city. Viewing from above, people see a complete picture taken from the image on a 50-yuan banknote. The green banknote, still in circulation now in China, shows the profiles of a worker, a peasant and an intellect in the middle of it. Like a concrete forest growing out of the banknote, the model vividly represents a typical Chinese city developing in a competitive international environment. Problems occurred frequently during the process of creation, which almost led to a complete failure several times. I believe this experience reflects the similarly unstable state of the nation's economic and political environment. Shortly after the project started, the Chinese government was urged by the US and Europe to revaluate its RMB, triggering heated debates around the globe. In July 21, 2005, after months of pressure from the US and Europe, China scrapped the Yuan's peg to the US dollar and raised its exchange rate with the US dollar by two percent, which attracted the attention of the entire world. The project of Weng Fen, therefore, seems to be a mystical prophesy on this event in the ever-changing world. The eggs building high on top of each other are a sign of the present appreciation of RMB and the potential of further appreciation. The whole modern city in Weng's installation finds its foundation in a banknote that symbolizes the economic basis for development. Of course, the artist did not create the project to show his anticipation of the appreciation of the currency. It is the essential relationship between the country’s rapid shift to modernization and the
political and economic situation home and abroad that he is emphasizing on. The current environment is obviously the best for artists to express their ideas about the issues they are concerned with through their work. The title of the project, “Building with eggs”, has its origin from an ancient Chinese idiom that date back to the Chunqiu Period (770-476 BC), “as precarious as a pile of eggs”, meaning “in an extremely dangerous situation.” It clearly indicates the artist’s concern over the reality. Maybe he intends to imply the possible crisis caused by the appreciation of the currency in his work, as uncertainty remains throughout the whole process of creation, but we don’t know the exact answer. China’s adoption of a more flexible exchange rate regime is a proof that the interaction between art and reality, both political and economical, is not only possible, but also practical, though the artists’ understanding of the reality usually tend to be perceptual.

In spite of the coincidence with the reality, “Building with Eggs” focuses on the fast-developing city model which features the picture on a 50-yuan note. This installation, together with his other works, demonstrates his keen insight into the problems arising from China's modernization process. Ever since the 1990s, cities across the nation have been going through large-scale construction work in order to realize modernization. City reconstruction movement has become one of the most distinctive features of the country. As large parts of old cities are being torn down, the government has to relocate a large number of city dwellers. Unfortunately, many sites of historical and cultural importance have been wiped out while people are trying to build their cities into metropolitans. After excessive reconstruction, cities lose their own features and start to look the same. Up until now, the modernization process has influenced practically every city around the country and become a part of urban life and culture. All the changes are integrated into people's daily life and they damage the once stable social structure, leading to problems such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor as well as between the western and eastern regions. Common people, who are content with the status quo, tend to believe what the propaganda system wants them to: that they are enjoying carefree prosperity. Only when their interests are affected by city reconstruction can they realize that problems are deep-rooted in this transforming society. In fact, many problems are overshadowed by China's long-lasting economic growth. As the price level remains stable for years, relocation has become the key issue that disturbs people’s normal life, which makes them realize all of a sudden that social changes can not be avoided, nor neglected. On the other hand, artists are sensitive enough to grasp the core of these problems and are able to stay ahead of time. Weng Fen expresses his anticipation of possible problems and his worries about modernization in his “Building with Eggs”. Every egg was first sprayed with shiny, high-luster gum to keep them from deterioration. Then they were glued on a piece of board by the gum to form models of city architecture with different shapes. The city model looks as cool and glistening as the eggs themselves under the spotlight. All the decorative eggshell “buildings” have the style of a future city conceived by the artist. It is obvious that a sacred spiritual home in a bright future is what “Building with Eggs” is trying to display. Interesting enough, this magnificent installation can be seen as a visual demonstration of the world created in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. Written in 1932, the novel depicted an anti-utopian World State in which residents suffered greatly. In that globalized world, babies were produced by the cloning technology and segregated into various castes once they were born. Through the use of science, babies were also conditioned to guarantee they would be happy members of the advanced society, the motto of which was “Community, Identity, Stability.” Even people of lower castes were trained to be content with their lives. After seven hours of light work, they could take drugs, indulge themselves in promiscuity and enjoy "Feelie," a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Each person's “happiness” was maximized as a result of their social conditioning and stunted development. Now many European scholars still believe that the prognostication made by Huxley is coming true as we can recognize so many contemporary parallels there are to the World State. Economic globalization has brought about a large number of identical modern cities where people have the same life style. Diversified and rich human culture has been seriously damaged in the “cloning” of metropolitan cities. Weng Fen's “Building with Eggs” is the representation of a modern and globalized Chinese city desperate for economic growth and is an excellent satire of the identical urban planning of cities in China and other developing countries. As a symbol of the ever- expanding cities, the installation warns people to stay clear of blind optimism. If we don't refrain from excessive urban construction and expansion and stop being indulged in the superficial prosperity of the “metropolises”, cities will be deprived of their culture and spirit and become as hollow as eggshells. We have to protect the tangible and intangible cultural heritage and maintain a balance between the consumption of resources and the protection of environment. Otherwise, the modernized cities we crave for will turn out to be another “Brave New World”. 

The installation “Building with Eggs” looks like a huge sand table model made from special materials, which stimulates viewers' imagination and their passion for consumerism. As the real estate market has heated up dramatically in recent years, building inspection is popular among residents in the growing cities in China and a huge number of people who intend to invest in the market are busy visiting different new buildings under construction. When they are looking closely at various delicate sand table models and sample rooms decorated extravagantly, they like to dream of their perfect future lives in these buildings. They are also frequent visitors of real estate exhibitions, moving from one model to another, looking for their idealistic future apartments. Weng Fen has a profound understanding of the fact that in expanding Chinese cities, people are looking for greater benefits and an enduring sense of happiness by investing in the real estate market. “Building With Eggs” follows the format of a sand table model, thus making viewers feel familiar and stimulating their imagination. But it should not be considered the same as a common model in a building's sales office or a city’s urban-planning exhibition hall, because they are different in essence --- the installation does not have a specific area to be modeled after. Instead, it displays a Utopia. Misconceptions may occur if people fail to realize the disparity. Sand tale models are usually built exquisitely as if they were pieces of craftwork. By highlighting the good features and eliminating some shortcomings of the actual place, they all appear to be unrealistically magnificent and attractive to consumers. Inspired by the outlook of a wonderful life in a new apartment exhibited in the models, the viewers are enthusiastic to buy a condominium, even if they have to apply for a mortgage, as they desire to improve their living standards in this way. Experienced viewers can recognize in the model city of “Building With Eggs” many familiar things, including apartment buildings, business centers, clubs and CBD. They can even find a television tower, a stadium, grass lands, artificial lakes, theme parks and viaducts. However, even though its appearance can be linked to any Chinese city in the current economic boom, the super-realistic eggshell city refers to none of them. The design of the city originates from Weng Fen’s memory of different cities. The viewers who are used to common models may feel at a loss when they are looking at the model city, because they can’t buy anything on display. Most city residents have been devoting themselves to getting better apartments with the intention to raise their social status and ensure the quality of their lives in this transforming society. But they can’t realize their dreams of securing a happy life in a city that only exists in the form of an eggshell model. The fragileness of eggshells represents the unstable state of the economy frequently troubled by “bubbles”, which is usually ignored by the over-optimistic. The eggshell installation encourages viewers to think about many questions: Are the buildings in our cities reliable? Do our happy lives have a solid foundation? The installation also attracts viewers to inspect it further and leads them to face the shocking reality. As it is human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm, we should respect nature and pursue balanced and sustainable development. As a matter of fact, the “Beautiful New World” built through Weng Fen's great efforts does not qualify for a perfect spiritual home for us human being as it carries the risk of collapsing at any moment. As an anti-utopia, the eggshell city warns the people who only care about satisfying their own desire and seeking their own “happiness” that if we don't improve our urban planning and construction immediately, the day of collapse will not be very far ahead. As an artist who understands the minds of city dwellers, Weng Fen exposes the problems in urban development through a sand table model and reveals the fragileness and falseness of ignorant people trapped in this modern development crisis.

The life of contemporary art lies in experimenting. “Building with Eggs” is the latest “experiment” carried out by Weng Fen's “modern art lab”. Like a model built with toy bricks by a child, the simple yet meaningful installation reflects the unique viewpoint of the artist and his insight into social and cultural issues. As modernization is, to some extent, the origin of many economic, social and cultural problems in China. The courage Weng Fen shows when he addresses these problems through his works is an example of the artist’s rational criticism of the society and his active participation into the current social life, which is quite rare in China’s art scene now. (Translated by Steven Huang)