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Wen Pulin 溫普林
Seven Sins: 7 Performances during 1989 Chinese Avant-Garde Art Exhibition 七宗罪──89中國現代藝術展上的七個行為
1989–2009
This film documents seven performances staged on the opening day of the landmark China/Avant-Garde exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing in 1989. The organisers of the exhibition were granted permission to present the work at the museum on the condition that no performance art would be included. Nine artists nevertheless decided to stage performances. Zhang Shengquan, Zhu Yanguang, and Ren Xiaoying’s performance dealt with mourning, and involved the artists walking through the exhibition space in white sheets; Wu Shanzhuan sold shrimp to reflect on the relationship between art and consumption; Wang Lang dressed as an anicent Chinese warrior; Li Shan washed his feet in a plastic basin decorated with Ronald Reagan’s image; Zhang Nian sat surrounded by eggs, as if hatching them; Wang Deren threw more than seven thousand condoms around the museum; and Xiao Lu shot her installation with a pistol. The exhibition was promptly closed as a result.
The artist and filmmaker Wen Pulin termed these seven performances ‘seven sins’, in light of the intended exclusion of performance art. Wen’s documentation is the only known footage of the performances at China/Avant-Garde. The film also features interviews with the artists in 2009, tracing the development of their performance work.
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