Yang Fudong: Fifth Night, 2010. HD video Installation, 7 screens, Black and White, sound, 10' 37''. Courtesy of the Artist and Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris / New York ; Shanghart Gallery, Shanghai. İYang Fudong.
Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art
Yang Fudong
(Preview 12 September, 6:30-9 pm)
13 September – 6 November 2011
After the resounding success of his first solo exhibition at Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art in 2006, the foundation will dedicate a second major solo show to the renowned Chinese artist and film maker Yang Fudong in September 2011. Yang Fudong is regarded as one of the most important artists to emerge in contemporary China and Parasol unit is delighted to exhibit his most recent multichannel film Fifth Night, 2010 (10 minutes 37 seconds video, multichannel, 7 screens, 35mm black and white film transferred to HD, sound).
Fifth Night is a video-installation composed of seven synchronized projections. The shots are supposed to feature the streets of Shanghai's old town at night. In the middle of the scene with carriages, rickshaws and vintage cars, a stage has been built and a tramway is being frantically repaired. Unrelated characters appear, hesitating men and women attend to their own activities without interaction. The artist uses seven 35 mm cameras which film the same scene from different angles, demonstrating a variation of scale and depths of field. Yang Fudong refers to this new technique as “multiple view film”, which emphasises the character's subtle expressions and simplest actions. What the viewer could perceive as separate instances, are actually simultaneously tied together into one scene, expanding and multiplying the spectator's usual vision and perception. As with most of Yang Fudong's works, here again the artist uses images metaphorically.
In addition to Fifth Night, Yang Fudong will create a new work, which will premiere at Parasol unit.
Born in 1971 in Beijing, Yang Fudong lives and works in Shanghai.
Recent exhibitions include Marion Goodman Gallery, Paris, France, and Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Sydney, Australia. Recent solo shows in 2010 include Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece and Kino Kino, Sandnes, Norway. In 2009 key exhibition included Hara Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, USA; MuHKA, Antwerp, Belgium; Zendai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China. Important group exhibitions include The 52nd International Art Exhibition/ La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy, 2007; The Real Thing: Contemporary Art from China, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 2007; Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland, Australia, 2006; Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, UK, 2004; Time Zones: Recent Film and Video Art, Tate Modern, London, UK; Chinese Pavilion and Utopia Station, the 50th Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy, 2005.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication.
Visitor information
Gallery opening hours: Monday: by appointment; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–6 pm; Sunday, 12–5 pm
Admission: Free
Directions: From Old Street Tube station, leave via Exit 1 and walk up City Road for five minutes. Turn right into Wharf Road after passing the Texaco petrol station.
From Angel Tube station, turn left and walk down City Road for ten minutes before turning left into Wharf Road at the Texaco petrol station.
Buses 43, 205 and 214 all travel down City Road.
Note to editors
Please contact Anna Lehmbruck on 020 7490 7373 or anna@parasol-unit.org for more information.
Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art is an independent educational charity devoted to promoting contemporary art for the benefit of the public. The core activity of the foundation is to showcase contemporary work of leading and emerging international artists who work in a variety of media. In conjunction with each exhibition Parasol unit organises a series of talks and educational events. Parasol unit mounts four exhibitions a year, most of which are accompanied by a publication. To encourage the widest possible access to its exhibition programme, Parasol unit does not charge admission fees for its exhibition programme. For more information visit www.parasol-unit.org.
Company registration: 05299582/ Registered charity number: 1107425
