Showing posts with label Isaac Julien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaac Julien. Show all posts

Friday, July 16, 2010

ten thousand waves

Although I'm always pretty skeptical about any art piece/film that is Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon-esque (a great movie on its own terms, but has since become equated with Chinese, along the lines of Kung Fu and General Tso), I saw this 9-screen installation by Isaac Julien entitled Ten Thousand Waves recently at ShanghART (see my post on Mo Gan Shan road) and was fairly impressed. The stills below show off his photography skills- I like the colors and the depth and the fact that the beautiful Maggie Cheung joined the cast.


For me, the installation speaks about Chinese mythology in terms that are relevant today, like environmental sustainability. At one point, Maggie Cheung's goddess character overlooks the vastness of the seas, and it is implied that we, her children, are calling upon her.