Infantization, MUHKA Media/FOMU, Antwerp, 2010.
Infantization grows out of a long period of research into the practices and ecologies of young artists in China born around 1980, commonly known as the Gelatin Generation. The exhibition shows how they manifest a young, urban consciousness in creative works spanning the media of painting, illustration, video, photography, sound, architecture, computer games, design, music, dance, film, and literature. In doing so they seek on every level and from every perspective to show the artistic face of the Gelatin Age, rooted in interdisciplinary explorations and developmental trends.
Infantization seeks to interpret the cultural, psychological, and formal-linguistic specificities as well as the lifestyles of this generation. It focuses on the questions of how young people face an ever stronger trend toward commercialization and stylization, and contribute to the development of artistic concepts characteristic of the Chinese nation in the twenty-first century.
Most of the artists in this exhibition find themselves in a state of infantilized youth, psychologically and emotionally unwilling to enter early adulthood. Be it in terms of thinking or habits, they all maintain the same infantile flair: toys, pacifiers, manga characters, pandas, these are their partners in life. Pursuing a simple and happy life, they no longer imbue their art with profound meaning. Directing their emotions back to their childhood, their common characteristic is an unwillingness to grow up.
In investigating the art of the Gelatin Age, we can already vaguely sense these artists’ daringness in creating new forms and figures. Often they create their own unique Chinese forms, incorporating not only aliens and fantastic beasts, but also images refined from Chinese tradition, other cultures and personal histories.
The Gelatin Agers discuss questions from a wide, universal perspective. Some of their scenes are set in outer space, they create characters human and non-human alike. Their sense of time and space is built on science and futuristic fantasy. Yet hiding behind the shallow façade of their art, we can also clearly see the conflicts and contradictions brought on by problems in Chinese life and society. Gelatin Agers are faced with a rapid social transition and its chaos and disorder. They are adrift in a tide of stimulating information from outside. The Gelatin Generation seeks to break free of the expectations of its elders, and yet lacks a point of reference for self-cultivation. All of these issues are addressed in the Infantization show.
