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Ink Media #4

Date2011-2013

Maker Chen Shaoxiong Chinese, born 1962

Label TextScarf, goggles, gas mask, boots, rope, headphones, camera, spray can, megaphone: these are items demonstrators might bring to a street protest. The artist illustrates images of mass demonstrations in ink paintings and animates the paintings as a video montage. This emphasizes both the risks to protestors and the power of collective action, whether it be in antiwar or prodemocracy movements; in Arabic-, English-, or Spanish-speaking countries; or in peaceful protest or violent clashes. A rousing soundtrack includes samples from Jasiri X’s “Occupy (We the 99)” and a Taiwanese version of “Do You Hear the People Sing” from the 1980 musical Les Misérables, today a protest anthem sung in many languages.

Object number2014.33.11

ProvenanceThe artist; purchased by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2014

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, CHEN SHAOXIONG: Ink. History. Media., July 19 - Dec. 7, 2014. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Beyond the Mountain: Contemporary Chinese Artists on the Classical Forms, July 22, 2022 - ongoing [on view beginning July 22, 2022].Published ReferencesLaskin, David. "In Seattle, It's Almost Normal." The New York Times, September 1, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/travel/things-to-do-seattle.html.

Credit LineAsian Art Acquisition Fund

Dimensions3 min., 45 sec.

MediumBlack-and-white video, sound