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Shanghai in the Raw

Erotica, genitalia, fornication, and schoolgirl fantasies - By Melanie, Jun 10, 08

Shanghai showed some skin this weekend with the opening of two new exhibitions, "Naked" at 140 sqm and "Intimacy" at Noeli, two galleries in the French Concession. Two successful shows – both thriving in their provocatively painted couture— approached sex from polar directions. "Naked," as the title suggests, embraced flagrant depictions sex. Take for instance, Hu Weida's sketched naked bodies fornicating on a patch of female genitalia (main picture). On the other hand, "Intimacy" provided gentle allusions to the sexual fantasy world of the young girl, who lifts her skirt with a mischievously hungry look, while sucking on a cigarette.

In a city like New York or LA, where artists are working in their own bodily fluids, both these shows might be considered tame. However, Shanghai's art scene treads along a prudish course, allowing "Naked" and "Intimacy" to rock our puritan vessel as it meanders down the Huangpu.
Liu Ying Mei, curator for 140 sqm dismisses Shanghai's state-run museums with a wave of her hand. "Most places in Shanghai simply would not display the works I've collected here, despite the fact that these are acclaimed, established artists," she says.

One of the more impressive pieces at Naked was a series called "Clone Flower," a set of luscious green plants by Li Haifeng, which on not-so-close inspection erupt with phalluses, labia and the like. The mesmerizing green and fuchsia palate accentuates the bold images.

Li Li, a demure female artist showing her series of works "Intimacy" at Noeli gallery, took an entirely different approach. Li's subtle references to budding female sexuality are no less arousing, but the rendition is demure. Her works depict school age girls (fetish alert) located in private spaces, their bedrooms, their wardrobes, or sitting alone in nature.

Innocent? Well, these girls are virginal, but their dewy eyes and skirts scrunched up within a centimeter of their blossoming youth. These girls have one thing on their mind.

Noeli Zhang, the curator, told me "in traditional Chinese society males never enter a girl's room, so the girl is left in her own space to imagine what could be." Certainly one artist can't speak for all young girls, but Li's adolescent imagination produces images of unabashed and unrequited sexuality.

Overt and subtle references to sexuality are at once playful, comforting, embarrassing and beautiful. But even if nudity evokes horror or disgust in the viewer, it's tough to deny that sex is the core of humanity. And what better people to discuss sex than the artists who can make it look pretty? So why doesn't China want its citizens to look, stare or gawk? The glaring absence of sexually-based art in Shanghai is a loss of gross proportion. At the risk of making a pig-headed sweeping claim, Shanghai cannot become a major hub for artistic culture if it refuses to address humanity at its most basic and carnal.


Naked runs through Aug 3 at 140 sqm gallery
Intimacy runs through June 25 at Noeli gallery

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