06 → The Transfiguration of the Demiurge in the Light of Eternal Ideas
Reflection on the Chinese art factories
Studio SFCH (Sofya Chibisguleva) with Rebecca Thumb von Neuburg and Snail Jin
The Transfiguration of the Demiurge(1) in the Light of Eternal Ideas. 1 - (n.) the controller of the material world; divine artisan responsible for the creation of the physical universe antagonistic to all that is purely spiritual
Fiberglass composite plastic, aluminium, oak and birch plaques, plastic film.
Installation at Arthill Gallery, London, March 2018
This installation was created in collaboration with Munich-based artist Rebecca Thumb von Neuburg, Shanghai-based curator Snail Jin and a Shanghai-based artwork-production studio (not to be disclosed).
In Noveber of 2017 I visited Shanghai for the International Awards for Art Criticism ceremony, where I was part of the Royal College of Art delegation. During our visit, we went to the famous “art factory” in China — one of the many places where big artists hire cheap labour from production studios to create their pieces, to be shipped to the West. The sheer scale of this producion landscape (the size of a town), inspired Sofya and Rebecca to create a ptroject.
With the help of Snail Jin (the WeChat conversation between us was part of the exhibitionb) we invited 2 lead workers of one of the production studios to cast their hands in plaster in “The Creation of Adam” motion and ship the casts to London.