The Paris based Chinese
origin Wang Du has been recognised as a master of manipulating images
related to the mass media. He is an iconoclastic hero in re-appropriating
and deconstructing the spectacular images of our contemporary society
founded upon the logic of creation, consumption and manipulation
of information, both textual and imagery. In his often-spectacular
sculptures and installations, Wang Du turns some of the most spectacular
moments propagated by the hegemonic system of mass media into ironic
and absurd forms. Facing his spectacular art works, what one experiences
is, indeed, the ultimate disillusion of the fictive myth of contemporary
society promised by the global capitalist ruling machine. Tourism
is no doubt the most important economic activity in the region where
Arte all’Arte takes place. It’s the unsaid foundation
of the contemporary society here, dominating most of the economic,
cultural and political activities. Instead of commenting the apparent
phenomenon of touristic triumph, Wang Du is particularly interested
in exploring the internal and more essential nature of tourism itself.
His obsessive fascination of the myth of the image pushes him to
question the making of the amazing cityscape of San Gimignano itself.
But, he prefers to play with the fictive quality of it instead of
dealing with the "real history": somewhere in the city,
against the spectacular sight of the San Gimignano towers, he discretely
digs into the soil and reveals a large object supposedly excavated
from the remote past. It’s strange look reminds of some eccentric
aircraft from outer space; in the meantime, it also looks like an
enlarged version of a house-ware sold in the supermarket…
Obviously, Wang Du is inventing a new tourist spot for this famous
tourist city. However, his tourist spot is, like the tourism that
he proposes, the most suspicious one. It’s simply a parody
of the contemporary tourism and social/economic life, with San Gimignano
as a "city of touristic cliché".
Wang Du, Mamma Mia!, 2003
Parco della Rocca, San Gimignano
Project for Arte all’Arte 2003
Photo Ela Bialkowska, view of the installation. |
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