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M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation, © Estate of Chen Shaoxiong
Chen Shaoxiong 陳劭雄
Collectivity Memory–Guangzhou. Zhongxin Plaza 集體記憶：廣州中信廣場
2006
Collectivity Memory–Guangzhou. Zhongxin Plaza presents a monochromatic landscape of buildings, with a skyscraper occupying the centre. The scene appears hazy and grainy, like a highly pixelated image. The work stretches three metres wide, and fingerprints darken and create texture in the landscape. Known for his experimental videos and installations in the 1990s, Chen Shaoxiong’s work evolved in the 2000s to include ink paintings, which explore personal and collective memories of urban spaces. In response to the rapid urban transformation in China, he began a series titled Collectivity Memory that documents significant architectural landmarks or districts in major Chinese cities. Each work in this series consists of a large sheet of rice paper or a canvas featuring landscapes formed by small, faint circles. The landscapes are completed with ink applied by fingertips. The individual fingerprint impressions symbolise a recognition and verification of the landscape—the painting is realised by a group of people who are familiar with these buildings. Chen’s later work in this style includes scenes of cultural institutions such as the musée du Louvre, and he similarly invited people to define their own view of these institutions through their fingerprints.
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