Wang Dongma
Encyclopedia
Wang Dongma wǎŋ dʊ̃ mà is a Shanghai-based multimedia
artist originally from Beijing
, known for exploring a wide range of new media art forms since 2005. These include interactive mirrors, LED
screens, electronic sculptures and large scale as well as miniature video installation
s that have been exhibited around China
. He is a main pillar of the island6 Arts Center
and its in-house art collective Liu Dao
, an artist run, not-for-profit group of artists, photographers, graphic design
ers, filmmakers, dancers, choreographers and electronic engineers.
with a BA degree in Physical Engineering in 1991. He gained his extensive knowledge and training in the engineering fields of optics and nanotechnology
to create works that meld natural materials with an electronic, high-tech twist. These pieces have been a central component of island6 works and exhibitions since December 2007, when he brought his skills to the island6 Arts Center as a resident artist, beginning collaboration with Liu Dao.
, Rose Tang
, Bing Bing, Kong Mosha and Matt Carols. Together, Liu Dao and Wang Dongma research technology as a visualization instrument, where Wang utilizes time-lapse
d video and aerial photography as an apparatus for research in his study of visual landscapes.
Wang’s artistic direction and Liu Dao’s physical construction and input results in a unique series of interactive mirrors that combine photography, fine arts, video, graphic art, illustration and drama with old school low-resolution technology. This creates a striking contrast between traditional media and the natural materials used, and digital technology and electronic equipment. Made of infrared
sensors, two-way mirrors and video screens, the retro aesthetic of the works juxtaposed with their high tech
content create a complex and beautiful sensory environment. Through his technique, Wang constantly pushes through the borders of electronic and interactive art.
longtang and yangfang longtang periods, which together made up a century of Shanghai housing from the mid-19th Century to the mid-20th. The shikumen, or “stone gate” style of housing is found only in Shanghai. It is a blend of Eastern and Western architectural styles built in the foreigner concessions, but the conceptual and aesthetic beauty of these structures has not withstood the test of time Wang’s mirrors speak through their images of the stone archways and brick alleyways disappearing day by day to be replaced by large, charmless, modern apartment blocks as the architecture of Shanghai’s past is being swept away by urban momentum, and this sense of passing permeates Wang’s productions.
As viewers approach these antique wooden mirrors, the appearance of another image within the glass is suddenly triggered. Viewers are at first simply impressed by the mirror’s seemingly magical technology, and then gradually mesmerized as the image combines with the mirror to create a pan-experientialist aura that imposes a hypnotic effect on its viewer. Like the images in the mirrors, China’s unforeseeable changes materialize and disappear in the blink of an eye.
, Wang became part of the White Rabbit Gallery collection in Sydney, Australia. In May 2010, Wang was chosen by Red Gate Gallery to be represented at the Hong Kong Art Fair.
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
artist originally from Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, known for exploring a wide range of new media art forms since 2005. These include interactive mirrors, LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
screens, electronic sculptures and large scale as well as miniature video installation
Video installation
Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has increased in popularity as digital video production...
s that have been exhibited around China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He is a main pillar of the island6 Arts Center
Island6
is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,...
and its in-house art collective Liu Dao
Liu Dao
Liu Dao Liu Dao Liu Dao (a Pinyin phrase meaning "island number 6" - , is an international multidisciplinary art collective based in Shanghai, China. Liu Dao was founded in 2006 by island6 Arts Center under the direction of French curator Thomas Charvériat. Liu Dao is an electronic art group...
, an artist run, not-for-profit group of artists, photographers, graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
ers, filmmakers, dancers, choreographers and electronic engineers.
Background
Wang graduated from Zhejiang UniversityZhejiang University
Zhejiang University , sometimes referred to as Zheda, is a national university in China. Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University is one of China's oldest institutions of higher education...
with a BA degree in Physical Engineering in 1991. He gained his extensive knowledge and training in the engineering fields of optics and nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
to create works that meld natural materials with an electronic, high-tech twist. These pieces have been a central component of island6 works and exhibitions since December 2007, when he brought his skills to the island6 Arts Center as a resident artist, beginning collaboration with Liu Dao.
Liu Dao
Wang’s life as academic and artist has enabled him to foster communication and dialogue with technicians and artists from different backgrounds in Liu Dao, such as Cai Duobao, Zhang DeliZhang Deli
Zhang Deli is a [Shanghai]-based artist born in Zhengzhou, Henan province in 1979. Her work in new media has been exhibited around China, especially in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in Hong Kong and Brussels...
, Rose Tang
Rose Tang
Rose Tang is the pseudonym of an ambiguously-gendered,semi-fictional artistic personality based on Taiwanese-bornarchitect, biologist and zoologist Zheng Guoyang, under the art directionof French-born founder of the island6 Arts Center,Thomas Charvériat....
, Bing Bing, Kong Mosha and Matt Carols. Together, Liu Dao and Wang Dongma research technology as a visualization instrument, where Wang utilizes time-lapse
Time-lapse
Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing...
d video and aerial photography as an apparatus for research in his study of visual landscapes.
Wang’s artistic direction and Liu Dao’s physical construction and input results in a unique series of interactive mirrors that combine photography, fine arts, video, graphic art, illustration and drama with old school low-resolution technology. This creates a striking contrast between traditional media and the natural materials used, and digital technology and electronic equipment. Made of infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
sensors, two-way mirrors and video screens, the retro aesthetic of the works juxtaposed with their high tech
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
content create a complex and beautiful sensory environment. Through his technique, Wang constantly pushes through the borders of electronic and interactive art.
Urbanization
The antique mirrors used by Wang are of Old Shanghai furniture from the shikumenShikumen
Shikumen , literally "stone gate", is an architectural style for residential buildings in Shanghai, China combining Western and Chinese elements that first appeared in the 1860s...
longtang and yangfang longtang periods, which together made up a century of Shanghai housing from the mid-19th Century to the mid-20th. The shikumen, or “stone gate” style of housing is found only in Shanghai. It is a blend of Eastern and Western architectural styles built in the foreigner concessions, but the conceptual and aesthetic beauty of these structures has not withstood the test of time Wang’s mirrors speak through their images of the stone archways and brick alleyways disappearing day by day to be replaced by large, charmless, modern apartment blocks as the architecture of Shanghai’s past is being swept away by urban momentum, and this sense of passing permeates Wang’s productions.
Globalization
Wang and Liu Dao’s project continually entices visitors into the increasingly prevalent contemplations of China and Shanghai’s cherished traditions in the face of its high tech infrastructural developments and the tides of technological upgrades rapidly sweeping across China and pushing its people into the globalized world. These projects highlight the tension between traditional living conditions and the advanced technology which China is currently embracing.As viewers approach these antique wooden mirrors, the appearance of another image within the glass is suddenly triggered. Viewers are at first simply impressed by the mirror’s seemingly magical technology, and then gradually mesmerized as the image combines with the mirror to create a pan-experientialist aura that imposes a hypnotic effect on its viewer. Like the images in the mirrors, China’s unforeseeable changes materialize and disappear in the blink of an eye.
Exhibitions & Honors
In February 2008, Wang was chosen by Manaart to be represented at the first ever Roma Contemporary Art Fair in Rome, Italy. The following year in June 2009, while working with Liu DaoLiu Dao
Liu Dao Liu Dao Liu Dao (a Pinyin phrase meaning "island number 6" - , is an international multidisciplinary art collective based in Shanghai, China. Liu Dao was founded in 2006 by island6 Arts Center under the direction of French curator Thomas Charvériat. Liu Dao is an electronic art group...
, Wang became part of the White Rabbit Gallery collection in Sydney, Australia. In May 2010, Wang was chosen by Red Gate Gallery to be represented at the Hong Kong Art Fair.
Exhibitions
| Year | Title | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "The Big Bang" | White Rabbit Gallery | Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
| 2010 | "Prophecies" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2010 | "Raining Stars" | The Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,... Gallery |
Macau Macau Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China... |
| 2010 | "Garden of Autumn Vapours" | Red Gate Gallery | Beijing, China |
| 2010 | "Absolute 0:00" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2010 | "HK Artfair 2010" | Hong Kong Art Fair, curated by Brian Wallace | Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... |
| 2010 | "Psychic Apparatus" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2010 | "The Light Fantastic" | Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,... Cultural Space, curated by Jonathan Thomson |
Taipei, Taiwan |
| 2010 | "Libido, Mortido" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2010 | "Fakirs" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2009 | "Placebo" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2009 | "30 Degrees" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... and Studio Rouge |
Shanghai, China |
| 2009 | "Synesthesia" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2009 | "The Artist Died Yesterday" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2008 | "Automata" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... and ifa gallery Ifa gallery ifa gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Shanghai, China. The name ifa comes from Chinese 艺 and 法 , meaning methods of art, with the name in English taking a similar pronunciation: .... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2008 | "Urban Lust" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... and ifa gallery Ifa gallery ifa gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Shanghai, China. The name ifa comes from Chinese 艺 and 法 , meaning methods of art, with the name in English taking a similar pronunciation: .... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2008 | "Clouds of Crowds" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2008 | "PlugIT" | Blue Lotus Gallery | Fotan, Hong-Kong |
| 2008 | "Made in Shanghai" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2008 | "Made in China" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2007 | "Eurasia One" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2007 | "Nuit Blanche" (first Asian edition) | Shanghai Exhibition Center | Shanghai, China |
| 2007 | “Remote/Control” curated by Wenny Teo and Ella Liao | Museum of Contemporary Art | Shanghai, China |
| 2007 | "Bits, Bytes and Pixels" | ifa gallery Ifa gallery ifa gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Shanghai, China. The name ifa comes from Chinese 艺 and 法 , meaning methods of art, with the name in English taking a similar pronunciation: .... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2006 | "Forward/Backward and Reloading" | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
| 2006 | "Invisible Layers, Electric Cities” | island6 Arts Center Island6 is a not-for-profit, artist-run space in Shanghai, P.R.C. founded in 2006 by French curator/artist Thomas Charvériat.island6's mission is to provide a forum for contemporary artists whose works explore social, aesthetic,... |
Shanghai, China |
External links
- Wang Dongma.com : Artist’s Web Site
- The Electonistas : 程驅式動
- Shanghai Curators : Urbanatomy
- Mirroring, Dong Ma WANG, island6 Arts Centre : Art in Asia