Displacement: The Three Gorges Dam and Contemporary Chinese Art
Personal Creator
Chen Qiulin; Liu Xiaogong; Yun-Fei Ji; Zhuang Hui;
Description
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangzi River in China is a massive project entwined in controversy. When finally completed, it will stand as the world’s largest generator of hydroelectric power, with a yearly output equal to that of fifty million tons of coal or fifteen nuclear power plants. However, the dam’s 375 mile reservoir has already displaced over one million people and submerged over one thousand towns and villages. This exhibition presents work that four leading contemporary Chinese artists—Chen Qiulin, Yun-Fei Ji, Liu Xiaodong, and Zhuang Hui—have created in response to the dam. Despite differences in backgrounds and artistic practices, these artists have engaged with the theme of displacement, responding to the movement of people, the demolition of old towns and construction of new cities, and the astonishing changes the project is bringing to the local landscape. Through the powerful artworks and extensive educational programs, Displacement offers nuanced, thought-provoking perspectives on a project of great social, environmental, and global concern. Exhibition held in the Main Gallery space.
Subjects
Demolition, Ruins, Dam construction, Salt Lake Art Center, Chinese, hydroelectric dams, hydroelectric power, video art
Local Identifiers
14-0152
Title
Demolition of Utah Tech Buildings at the 400 South 600 East Campus, 1986
Description
Color 4x5 photographs of the demolition of buildings at the 400 South 600 East downtown campus of Utah Technical College at Salt Lake (Salt Lake Community College) in July of 1986.
Subjects
400 South 600 East Campus, 4th South 6th East Campus, Ruins, Demolition