Jacqueline Hassink, “Car Girls” (2002–06). C-prints. Courtesy Three Shadows Contemporary Photography Art Centre

Chinese Exhibition Examines Dark Side of Development

source: artinfo.com

BEIJING—With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen about to reach its make-or-break finale, now is an ideal time to visit Three Shadows Contemporary Photography Art Centre’s current exhibition, "We Are the World (WATW): Photography from China and the Netherlands," on view through Jan. 28. Co-organized by Three Shadows and Paradox, an art space in Edam, Holland, WATW brings together seven artists from each country working in photography, video, and related media in order to examine economic growth, ecological degradation, and personal alienation — interrelated phenomena that are hallmarks of our current decade. Borrowing its title from the popular 1985 song written to bring attention to the Ethiopian famine, WATW is less bleak than alarming, presenting a variety of artistic responses that can be roughly divided into two camps, with some projects focusing on the sites of urban development and consumer culture, while others attempt to humanize the plebeians who make it all possible. more...