Gao Shiqiang

Gao Shiqiang’s videos and installations are built upon his conflicted relationship with his national identity, and his experience as one in a generation of artists deeply affected by the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong’s legacy. “For my generation,” Gao says, “history has transformed into a trance, and the real world into a joke.” Gao creates narratives that explore feelings of disconnect, listlessness, estrangement, and alienation in different aspects of a day-to-day post-Revolution life in China. They frequently feature figures wandering in desolate landscapes, often with the use of abstract symbols and sculptural objects. Gao’s films, which are sometimes epic in length, are sometimes installed alongside machinery and sculptures that move in response to viewers.