Fragments: new environmental art works by Huang Xu February 10, 2009

In his London debut exhibition at the October Gallery, Chinese artist Huang Xu presents a series of ethereal prints exploring the fragile nature of the contemporary global economy. The tattered remains of plastic bags from rubbish heaps in China are collected and digitally remodeled, in three-dimensional scanners normally used by archaeologists, to produce images of haunting luminosity. For Huang Xu, the mundane history of the plastic shopping bag evokes a critical commentary on China’s acceleration towards a free-market economy and the global shift in the fortunes of capitalism. Far from resembling waste, the Beijing-born artist’s densely textured, luminous prints suggest the fine silk textiles of Imperial China, evoking an age of decadence and wealth, and recalling the historic trade links between China and the West. While China once shipped silk to the West, the West now ships used plastic bags back to China. (See www.octobergallery.co.uk for details and photographs.)

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