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Popular fiction often engages directly and powerfully with the social and political issues of our age. For Lai Shengyu and Yang Xiaogang, popular legends can likewise lead us to places of respite and contemplation. In a new series of paintings presented at Art+ Shanghai Gallery, the Beijing-based creative duo, Tamen+ borrows from rich artistic and literary renditions of the Eight Immortals to underscore the relevance of collaborative actions and intercultural communication.
While the immortals are the subject of many bodies of literature, one of the most famous was penned by an anonymous writer during the Ming dynasty. The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea (八仙过海) tells of eight immortals on a mythical journey. To reach their destination they must cross the ocean. Instead of relying on their personal clouds to carry them across they collectively agree to exercise their unique powers and through collaborative means they reach their destination. Derived from the Chinese proverb “Eight Immortals cross the sea, each reveals their divine powers" (八仙过海，各显神通). The cooperative theme in the story provides a moral aphorism for a speculative future. Furthermore, it echoes the collaborate approach to painting that has become a defining feature of Tamen+’s artistic practice for over a decade.
Drawing deliberate parallels between popular legends and legendary pop, Lai and Yang replace the revered immortals with modern and contemporary artists, among them, Edgar Degas, Antony Gromley, Jeff Koons and Yue Mingjun.
TAMEN+’s new body of works takes its ques from the artists’ signature Same Room series of paintings. The ocean replaces the anonymous apartment suite with exterior scenes in natural landscapes or cityscapes. As a “starting place for the visual conversation” the ocean lacks formal walls and becomes a marker of the limitless possibilities in an ever-expansive world. The boat by contrast is confining, but in its role as a transporter of humanity, provides “potential and space for intercultural co-existence.” The ocean and boat, like the “rooms” provide a “stage for the absurd reality of our time and the art of our age.”
Popular fiction often engages directly and powerfully with the social and political issues of our age. For Lai Shengyu and Yang Xiaogang, popular legends can likewise lead us to places of respite and contemplation. In a new series of paintings presented at Art+ Shanghai Gallery, the Beijing-based creative duo, Tamen+ borrows from rich artistic and literary renditions of the Eight Immortals to underscore the relevance of collaborative actions and intercultural communication.
While the immortals are the subject of many bodies of literature, one of the most famous was penned by an anonymous writer during the Ming dynasty. The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea (八仙过海) tells of eight immortals on a mythical journey. To reach their destination they must cross the ocean. Instead of relying on their personal clouds to carry them across they collectively agree to exercise their unique powers and through collaborative means they reach their destination. Derived from the Chinese proverb “Eight Immortals cross the sea, each reveals their divine powers" (八仙过海，各显神通). The cooperative theme in the story provides a moral aphorism for a speculative future. Furthermore, it echoes the collaborate approach to painting that has become a defining feature of Tamen+’s artistic practice for over a decade.
Drawing deliberate parallels between popular legends and legendary pop, Lai and Yang replace the revered immortals with modern and contemporary artists, among them, Edgar Degas, Antony Gromley, Jeff Koons and Yue Mingjun.
TAMEN+’s new body of works takes its ques from the artists’ signature Same Room series of paintings. The ocean replaces the anonymous apartment suite with exterior scenes in natural landscapes or cityscapes. As a “starting place for the visual conversation” the ocean lacks formal walls and becomes a marker of the limitless possibilities in an ever-expansive world. The boat by contrast is confining, but in its role as a transporter of humanity, provides “potential and space for intercultural co-existence.” The ocean and boat, like the “rooms” provide a “stage for the absurd reality of our time and the art of our age.”
