Major New Commission by Yang Fudong on view at TIFF Bell Lightbox Galleries
Time: June 7th to August 11th, 2013
Free admission.
The flagship program of TIFF’s summer season, A Century of Chinese Cinema, will be a comprehensive exploration of Chinese film, art and culture. The program will feature a major exhibition showcasing the work of leading international visual artist/filmmaker Yang Fudong and famed cinematographer Christopher Doyle.
In addition, a major film retrospective of over 80 titles and onstage sessions with some of the biggest names in Chinese cinema will trace the shared cultural and historical connections between the Chinese cinemas of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
“Chinese cinema is a dynamic, living thing. It issues from multiple cities, multiple genres and from multiple art forms,” said Noah Cowan, Artistic Director of TIFF Bell Lightbox. “We are grateful that Yang Fudong and Christopher Doyle have created these extraordinary new works for this exhibition. These two artists base their practice in film and cinema history; [they] not only represent Chinese cinema’s most exciting contemporary developments, but also its future.”
Yang Fudong
Two concurrent exhibitions will take place at TIFF Bell Lightbox. In the HSBC Gallery, TIFF has commissioned New Women, a major new installation by Yang Fudong inspired by early twentieth century Shanghai cinema. The five-screen work has been curated by TIFF’s Noah Cowan and Shanghai-based curator Davide Quadrio. In the TIFF Bell Lightbox Atrium, Away With Words, a two-part installation by Christopher Doyle, draws from recent Hong Kong cinema history and was curated by Cowan.
Shanghai-based Yang Fudong was educated in painting but moved to photography and film in the late nineties, since then he has become one of the most important members of the contemporary Chinese are scene and has exhibited in reputable venues around the world. Yang’s work epitomizes the tension between China’s recent and rapid modernization and its traditional values and culture, and is informed equally by traditional Chinese painting and by both avant-garde filmmaking and film noir.
Yang first came to the Western art world’s attention at Documenta XI in 2002 and the Venice Biennale in 2003 with his debut film, An Estranged Paradise, which will screen as part of A Century of Chinese Cinema. Referencing a range of influences from Jarmusch to Godard and 1920’s and 1930’s Shanghai films, this work established the artist as an important new voice of not only his own nation, but of the global artistic scene.
Yang’s interest in classic Shanghai film continues with the commission of New Women. The video installation is inspired by the decadence of Shanghai’s swinging 1920’s and 1930’s, a period that has been captured in some of the best-loved Chinese films–several of which are on the A Century of Chinese Cinema program. That era was defined by “hai pai,” the East-meets-West culture of the city, and the associated imagery remains influential among Chinese artists today. New Women takes a hai-pai approach to examine how women and ideas about women, have represented China’s search for modernity over the past century.
According to Yang Fudong, New Women was informed by An Estranged Paradise, his debut feature film, and so it is fitting that the film screens as part of the TIFF Cinematheque Free Screen series on June 5th at 7:00 pm in a new 35 mm print. Yang Fudong is represented by ShanghART in Shanghai and by Marian Goodman Gallery in Paris and New York.
Christopher Doyle
The Australian-born and long-time Hong Kong-based Christopher Doyle is best known as one of the world’s great cinematographers; his work on films including Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love and Hero has not only brought awards and accolades, but signaled new directions for cinematography in general. The public will have many opportunities to enjoy Doyle’s film work over the course of A Century of Chinese Cinema, but will also have a rare chance to experience Doyle’s visual art.
Away With Words is a long-term project exploring the nature of wordless language, an attempt to reconcile and complicate Doyle’s residence in a space between cultures and languages. The project is comprised of two multi-channel installations. One installation looks at the five Chinese elements (fire, earth, air, water, wood) through footage collected from a variety of sources including Doyle’s own films with new soundtracks.
In the other installation, Doyle examines his multiple identities: Christopher Doyle, his given name, and Du-ke Feng, the Chinese name under which he often works, interview one another on separate screens–Doyle calls it “a kind of Cinematographer’s Fight Club”–while a third screen showcases a collage borrowed from several sources. Doyle will also present a free live performance of Away With Words on June 8th at 10:00 pm, expanding the work into a third iteration.
The public is invited to join us for a complimentary tour of the exhibition. These 30 minute guided tours start June 9th and run weekly on Thursdays at 6:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm in the HSBC Gallery. Tours will also be offered in Cantonese and Mandarin every Sunday at 12:00 pm.
For information on the films, guests and events that comprise A Century of Chinese Cinema visit here. Admission to the exhibition is free.
About TIFF
TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, as well as learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $170 million CAD.
A Century of Chinese Cinema is presented by RBC.
Credits for New Women:
Written and directed by Yang Fudong
Cast:
Zhang Lingzi
Anita Hawkins
Li Lingxi
Wu Yandan (aka Nunu)
Liu Tianyi
Photography Director and Camera: Shu Chou
Art Director: Tian Tian
Make Up: Shen Xiaohong
Hairstylist: Gu Wei
Still Photographer: Jiang Pengyi
Casting by: Samantha Culp and Davide Quadrio
Line Producer: Zhu Chongwen
Executive Producer: Davide Quadrio
Special thanks to:
Noah Cowan and TIFF
Davide Quadrio and Arthub Asia
ShanghART Gallery
Marian Goodman Gallery
Supported by: Central Studios, Shanghai
Commissioned by Toronto International Film Festival 2013
Copyright 2013 Yang Fudong
All Rights Reserved
