Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

This is an interdisciplinary experiment: it combines a genre of art with an analytic mode of the humanities, interweaving the visual with the verbal, ethnographic examination with philosophical critique. With this cross-border approach, I intend to situate general art practice in particular social settings. More specifically, I select from an archive of 15 years of images made by myself on the subject of religion and ethnicity in post-socialist China. With the visual records, I then illustrate the radical changes in Chinese state ideology and the personal beliefs, or the lack thereof, of Chinese citizens. I elaborate on the potential meanings of the documented images and argue about their significance for China in the world, and the world in China today.