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“Exquisite Corpse”, a practice where those of the Surrealist school attempted to surpass the limitations of the conscious mind in an experiment which allowed revelations upon innate themes of cruelty, passion and sexuality in artistic expression. The title of the exhibition is derived from the game invented in 1925 where by random acts of notation, engaged parties would be able to decipher the collective unconsciousness of all those whom participated. Surrealism, based in litérature, was given life in words which formed a phrase following each individual contribution within the circle of participants. With an attempt to translate the practice to the visual realm of photography we are confronted with questions of mechanical réplication, proccess and the actual challenge of the subconscious being able to transcend the aperture, lens and print.

The curatorial work brings together over twenty Chinese artists of varying directions, fame and status, and the majority of the exhibition appears fragmented and incoherent at first. On examination, the exhibition serves as a stage for the act of Surrealism, lyrical, poetical, pornographic, subversive & violent in nature, the works contest a stale definition of the act of the practice, and the artists own results are held on display. The exhibition delivers wildly different images, and without repitition, the audience is able to explore what lies within the subconscious strata of the créative collective. Max Ernst’ « Mental Contagion » is given in reference as well as Lautreamont’s words « Poetry must be made by all and not by one. » act as the premise and platform of the Surreal investigation.

The processes vary dramatically, digital photography, c-prints and colour prints of differing scale and dimension allow for an intriguing visual display, yet a drawback exists in the saturation of the visual expérience. The processes do well reflect the random and incognitive intentions of the curation, and the bizarre conglomération excites our curiousity. The appeal and strength of the work lies largely in the uncompromising messages which appear metaphorically linked as near without exception, environmental and political issues seem parabound throughout the mindscape of whatever artist. In the exhibition, incoherency dominâtes rather than conherency by whatever measure, content and form are experimented with in a radical sub-context, the parallel being the malaise of contemporary China. Themes of cultural and individual aliénation, the dévastation of urban and rural environments & fantastic individual visual projections within the medium of photography arouse controversial issues otherwise subject to the rule of silence by the authoritarian nations’ censure.

Exquisite Corpse marks an important phase in the évolution of thematically oriented non-commercial exhibitions in the Shanghai vicinity. Rather than the circumvention of subversion towards a market-centric locus, the subversion is subject to an inverse direction and juxtaposed upon the prédominant avante-garde belonging to another era and culture. If the hypothesis appears contrived at first, on viewing the exhbition one is reminded of the cultural, historical and political héritage of the past thirty years expérience in the collective psyche of several générations. Allegory, political subterfuge and violence écho throughout thèse works in a non-symbolic manner which résonâtes within ones’ mind long after one has left.