▽ JOHN MOORES PAINTING PRIZE CHINA

Running now for two consecutive years the John Moore's Painting Prize China is a recently developed branch of the established Liverpool-based competition. Just as the main competition it has been significantly encompassed into this years Biennial.

During a visit to the Walker art gallery’s Talk Tuesdays I received an intriguing and informative walk-through of the pieces exhibited within both the John Moores painting prize and China painting prize.  When one visits the two exhibitions, which reside next to each other they will notice a somewhat conspicuous difference between them. This was specifically brought to the attention of one lady, who had also attended the weekly talk. When we were permitted to offer questions regarding all of the works she questioned why there seemed a notable difference in so-called traditional artistic ability between the two exhibitions. She suggested that the works from the China competition implied greater artistic talent and skill. The exhibition guide’s response to this was both insightful and interesting. Her response denoted that art education in China today differs greatly from that in Britain; it is still very much concerned with placing emphasis on developing atypical artistic skill and becoming a practiced artisan. Whilst Chinese art students may still attend life-drawing classes, British art students are subjected to a curriculum that enables them to work in more liberal and conceptually-driven way. It was certainly engrossing to see the cultural differences in art education reflected between the two exhibitions, however, I did not believe, as my fellow talk visitor did, that the Chinese art was superior to the more conceptual pieces of the John Moores prize simply because it reflected classical artistic skill and talent more directly. In my opinion, art does not have to possess conventional aesthetic value or demonstrate high artistic ability in order to be recognised as ‘good art’. I firmly believe that a profound concept and an effective expression of subject matter should be valued equally as much as an artist’s technical ability.

Subsequent to the interesting discussion regarding the juxtaposition of the two exhibitions I acquainted myself more with the prize winner of the China competition.  The winning piece is by the artist Nie Zhengji and is entitled Being. It discusses the representation of migrant workers in China - individuals from impoverished areas who relocate to urbanised regions in search of employment. Within the piece Zhengji implies that even though migrant workers are practically central to the urbanisation of particular regions in China, they are not rightfully appreciated by society. Zhengji has also suggested in relation to this piece that migrant workers in China are unjustly overlooked and detached from the city’s wealth and prosperity. The grey, melancholic palette incorporated into this piece immediately reflects and embodies the despondent subject matter addressed. The figure within the piece possesses no face and practically fades into the dark, sombre landscape in which it inhabits. This seems a clear reference to the lack of voice and significance that one supposedly feels as a migrant worker in China. Into the distance of the bleak landscape discreet objects, which arguably symbolise the commercial prosperity and wealth of a city can be seen; these objects are conceivably a taxicab and flashing city lights. Zhengjie may have intentionally made these objects a diminutive aspect of the painting, and seemingly distant from the painting’s figure, in order to suggest that the commercial wealth and prosperity of the city is not something that the everyday migrant worker is familiarised with. 

Being, reminded me a great deal of the work of Lui Bolin. Widely known as the ‘Invisible man’ Bolin camouflages himself into his surroundings in an attempt to artistically manifest the idea of being a societal outsider. The idea of having no societal importance or political voice forms the foundation for both Bolin’s work and Zhengji’s prize winning piece. Reading into the context of this year’s John Moores China pieces, it seems that they all to some degree discuss political or sociological issues.  Consequentially, it seems that gaining an esteemed political voice through art is a common shared goal for today’s contemporary artists of China.