Field Trip: Shanghai
By John Jervis
The location for the Ninth Shanghai Biennale is the city’s brand new Power Station of Art, the eye-catching 41,000-square-meter refurbishment of the Nanshi Power Plant. This, it is said, dates back to 1897 “in part,” but looked rather like it had been slapped up specially for the Biennale, curated by Qiu Zhijie, Boris Groys, Tsong-zung Chang and Jens Hoffman.
The theme is “reactivation,” inspired by the surroundings, but eschewing hymns to industrial might and proposing instead that real power, real creativity, comes “from collective consciousness,” from community relations and from diversity–that “‘others’ are a form of mineral resources.” The display panels even proclaim that the best energy comes not from the ground but from “cuddling together for warmth.” All inspirational stuff, if a little reminiscent of 1970s soul, or even Jennifer Rush.
