ACMI - Between the Screens

The Real World

The idea of 'place' as seen through the prism of China’s vast countryside and the movement of its people is a fluid concept. With growth and development there must also be destruction, as the favourable economic tide washes over some parts of the world, it recedes from others. Yang Fudong’s six-channel installation, East of Que Village, captures this moment in time. It considers the impact of Chinese industrialisation and urbanisation on rural communities, casting fresh light on those neglected by the new social-economic paradigm.

We also observe China’s landscape and the interactions particular to train travel in J.P. Sniadecki’s, The Iron Ministry.

Image courtesy of Yang Fudong,
ShanghART Gallery and Marian Goodman Gallery

Living on a Thin Line

In the following video, ACMI Senior Curator, Sarah Tutton, discusses the harshness of East of Que Village and how the fight for survival amongst a pack of dogs compounds the larger questions facing China today. Yang chooses this desolate, hostile landscape to stand in for the changes that have occurred in rural China as communities are scattered, traditional rural villages are dissolved, and the fight for survival takes hold.

"I was assailed by this feeling of emptiness, as if I'd been filming while floating in midair. Struck by a powerful urge to come back down to earth for the next work, I turned my attention to the real world."
- Yang Fudong on the making of East of Que Village

Unpacking Filmscapes... East of Que Village

A dog's-eye-view of life in the rural province of Hebei.

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Image courtesy of Yang Fudong,
ShanghART Gallery and Marian Goodman Gallery

The Iron Ministry

In the following video, Senior Film Programmer, Kristy Matheson, talks about the fascinating slice of life documentary, The Iron Ministry, providing a snapshot of various journeys on China’s railway system. The film provides insightful observations on personal space, social exchange and ethnicity whilst at the same time opening up the world outside the windows, zipping by and evolving at a rapid pace.

"I made the decision to just keep it all on one train, to build a kind of cinematic train by stitching together all these different journeys… [and], in some ways, though probably not immediately apparent, the film’s style also refers to a more personal form of filmmaking that reveals as much about me behind the lens as it does about the people and the technology in front of the lens."
- J.P. Sniadecki

Popcorn Moment with...The Iron Ministry

Life on the rails - a journey through China's vast interior.

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A Window onto the World

Theme: Journey (a photo on the move)
Take a photograph of the world moving past you...

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世界的窗口

主题: 旅程 (一张移动的照片)
拍摄一张世界和你擦身而过的照片

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