The work Eternity-Poseidon, Pigeons is a clash between two cultures. We see a classical bronze statue, Poseidon, on which birds are resting. If you take a closer look, however, you will discover that these are not ordinary pigeons, but painted Peking ducks. With this ironic wink, the artist plays with (mutual) prejudices and stereotypes of East and West.
Xu Zhen based the artwork on the bronze statue of Artemision, a statue from 460 BC. which was recovered from a Roman shipwreck at the bottom of the sea, near the Cape of Artemision, off the Greek coast. To date, it is unclear whether the statue represents Poseidon, the god of the sea, or Zeus, the god of the sky.
Eternity-Poseidon, Pigeons is part of The Eternity Series, a collection of sculptures mixing Eastern and Western historical artifacts.
- Material: bronze, marble, stainless steel
- Dimensions: 284 x 220 x 90 cm (statue), 75 x 135 x 90 cm (pedestal)
Artist: Xu Zhen
°1977
Xu Zhen is a Chinese artist. He is considered one of the most radical conceptual artists in China. In the late 1990s, Zhen began experimenting with performance, video and photography. His work tackles social taboos and traditional moral beliefs. Xu Zhen focuses on research into social, societal and political processes, which he integrates into his work in a theatrical and humorous way. It is a call for renewed values in our contemporary society.
In 2009, together with a group of employees, he founded 'MadeIn Company', a production company for contemporary art that responds to the concept of 'Made In China'.
In 2013 MadeIn Company launched 'Xu Zhen' as a commercial brand, represented by gallery Waldburger Wouters. Xu Zhen recently held solo exhibitions at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing, China (2016), Witte de With Art Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2015) and Long Museum, Shanghai, China (2015) and participated in the group exhibitions Turning Point: Contemporary Art in China since 2000, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China (2016), The Future Is Already Here – It's Just Not Evenly Distributed, 20th Sydney Biennale, Sydney, Australia (2016) and How To Gather, 6th Moscow Biennial, Moscow , Russia (2015).
