March 3-24, 2006

Shanghai is a city built by both Western and Eastern culture. It was used to be the foreign concession of various European countries. Because of the historical and coastal geographical situation, it grew into a window for China to connect to the world. As one of China’s important open port which western art and values were inroduced, Shanghai became a major city in the history of Chinese contemporary art. The contemporary art scene in Shanghai has a uniqueness of embracing the quality of traditional Chinese art while ushering into the future. Due to the evolving culture the Chinese government gradually relaxes the censorship of the artwork. The Art scene in China is now blossoming as the young artists are moving full speed in expressing themselves in various medium with the aid of the exposure of western art through the internet.

In the exhibition “Shanghai Story”, it will consist of photos taken by a young artist from Shanghai, Liu Yi Qing. Her work has an ultimate form of human expression and reflects the culture and the distinctive characteristics of the new generation in China. In this one piece as shown, two Chinese teenagers are teasing each other playfully with a sharp knife. While one of them, a young girl with bright red colored bangs and dark smoky eyes is biting fiercely on a razor edged knife as if she is growling at her partner. Her partner on the other hand just gazes at her calmly, anticipating something to happen. In the second picture, it portrays a young girl with outrageous make up and light pink hair playing with a bunch of white roses with her false nails. She is sitting leisurely cross legged with a magic wand lying next to her on a green silky couch surrounded by white furry walls.

Miss Liu’s work reflects the lifestyle of the gay and lesbian subculture in China. With her unique cultural background and distinct character her art is genuine and fresh.