​

This installation explores how the public intervenes in art, and how to express artistic “position” through artistic expression.

​

Different political contexts create very different art expressions. Two artists from China, who just arrived in London, experienced a completely different socio-economic and political environment compared to their home country. They self-reflect on their original way of artistic expression, while comparing the different artistic expressions between the oriental artists and the western artists.

​

The work “Art Must Take Sides” is permanently installed in the outdoor garden of the exhibition hall in London Beaconsfield Gallery. Thinking about how to connect the art work with this existing public space and grant it a certain social function. The text in the work implies the breaking of the established rules. Blue and white colours and related connection points also have cultural metaphors. The work reveals a clear conflict between the personal cultural background and the local cultural and political context. Rethinking the artist’s identity as to how the artist intervenes in the function and role of society.

​

This is a collaborated work. In the formation of the conceptual theme, artists were thinking about their cultural identity attributes in this group, and how to connect their identity with the group. All the discussions and creations are based on the expression of “positions”, as well as the engagement with the public.

​

The audience can sit on the bench of the installation while discussing the social phenomena revealed on the “text wall” from the work. It triggers a reflection on the comparison between difference in the political and cultural environment