Things are looking up for the artists working out of the old opium storage facilities at 696 Weihai Lu. Last year at this time this "artist incubator," as resident Chris Gill calls it, seemed to be facing imminent destruction. Just a few months ago, however, the artists signed a lease for another two years. This Saturday, some 40-odd artists/studios will open their doors to the public for their second annual springtime show.



Susanne Junker and Chris Gill met with me yesterday and took me on a tour of the many buildings and their studios. Chris, a British-born artist who has worked out of a studio at 696 for the past two years, appeared at the entrance entirely covered in paint with Susanne, a German artist and formal model. The two seemed excited and pleased about their exhibition, which starts Saturday with 696's opening and runs through April 27 in Susanne's brand new gallery space in 696, which she has named "stageBACK."

696 Weihai is much cooler than the overly commercial district Moganshan Lu -- this is mainly because not nearly as many people know about it. But Chris says that 696 may not be inherently more 'underground' than Moganshan, "it's just in a different stage of the artist incubator life cycle."

This "cycle" starts when artists move into a run down area where rent is low. The good rent-to-floor space ratio attracts more artists and prices slowly (or quickly) start to rise, at which point the galleries move in. Rent prices rises even more, the galleries become commercial, and the artists move out in search of another, less expensive space.

When Chris moved in two years ago rent was about 800rmb/month – "you didn't even think twice" he says, "you just moved." Now that studio (he no longer occupies it) rents for 3000rmb/month. "Maybe the first tenants of every artist incubator are actually car parts places," reflects Chris. There are still a few of those at 696 Weihai.



At the moment, contractors are putting the final touches on stageBACK. Renovations to the 3.5 x 14 sqm space have taken about four weeks. "Some of the requests have made the contractor look at me as if I was insane," says Susanne. During construction a playful cat ran into the midst of the commotion, tracking paw prints through the wet cement floor. Instead of redoing the floor, Susanne told the contractor to leave the prints as they are.

The show at stageBACK will feature Susanne's photography, Chris's painting and Andy Guhl's sound installation, which uses what he mysteriously refers to as "the instrument."

Experiences as a model heavily influence Susanne's photography. Many of her self-portraits, which include her dressed in an array of costumes or not dressed at all, examine the collective experience of women across social and cultural boundaries.

Series "Figures for the Base of a Crucifixion" references depictions of Mary Magdalene, who throughout the art has alternatively been portrayed either kneeling to anoint Jesus's feet or as a half-naked whore. Susanne taps into this angel/whore dichotomy (so often thrust upon womankind) in one self-portrait where she kneels with her eyes raised up seductively. While the gaze and pose suggest something salacious, the rest of her body is covered in labels such as "pills?" pasted on her neck, "sucking?" covering the gap of her mouth and "plastic surgery?" on her breast. These labels dismantle the individual into discrete parts to suggest that she is victim of social pressures and stigmas.

Chris also focuses on the modern female figure in his painting. One theme that he comes back to is an examination of the rapidly changing city and this movement's effect on the perceptions and illusions of beauty. This fall a retrospective of Chris's work appeared as a solo exhibition "City of Gold" at the Shanghai Art Museum in People's Square. Bright colors, thick lines, and large canvases characterize his paintings and draw the viewer in -- and the complex social commentary keeps them there. Chris's artwork is so big that they will have to be pulled up to the third floor gallery space with a rope.

The show is scheduled to start at 3pm and sound artist Andy Guhl will come on at 9pm.

Last year about 200 people showed up to wander through the open studios -- Chris is expecting even more this time around.

Over 40 galleries and art spaces are open to the public from this Saturday at 696 Weihai Lu. Make sure you make it to "stageBACK" for their Saturday night performance pieces.

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