Humour as a Mode of Criticism in Chinese Video Art

Screening and panel on humour as a mode of criticism in Chinese video art, with expert discussion and audience Q&A

This screening/panel showcases a video by the mainland China-based artist Zheng's Que. Zheng's video presents a site-specific performance by the artist at Beijing's Chaobai River. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the river acted as a boundary closing off central Beijing from it's suburbs. Viewers should be advised that the video includes sexualised imagery. This talk will be with Zheng Que 郑确 and Professor Paul Gladston

About the event series

This series of screenings/panel discussions accompanying the SOAS Gallery exhibition ‘In-/Visible Spectrums: Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere’ showcases contemporary video artworks by Sinophone artists along with in-depth discussions about their making and significance with the artists and experts in the field of Chinese contemporary art studies. The screened artworks are aesthetically and technically diverse. They also address a range of issues, including institutional critique, patriarchy, resistance to authority, queer identity, social control, climate change and well-being. Panel discussions at the screenings will be followed by extended audience Q&A.

The videos featured in this series of screenings contrast aesthetically in many cases with those included in the exhibition ‘In-/Visible Spectrums.’ While all the videos in the exhibition are lyrical, poetic and conceptually abstract most of those featured in the screenings involve more explicit narratives and/or forms of social engagement.

The exhibition and screenings/panels produced and financially supported by the University of New South Wales Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art (JNCCA).

Header image: Chaobai River: Bait the Willing! (2024), single-channel video, colour, sound, 5’42’’ by Zheng Que