The Chinese artist Xun Sun is presenting his solo exhibition titled Parallel Circus at TANK Shanghai, which is on view from March 9 – July 14. Sun has achieved great acclaim in his native China for his intricate large scale art that combines drawing, painting, animation, woodcutting and more. Parallel Circus centres on The Shock Dream in Circus, a new animated short film by the artist, along with the manuscripts and large-scale oil paintings that compose the film. The mixed media artist joins STIR in an interview to discuss The Shock Dream in Circus and connect it to his larger practice.
Sun’s film The Shock Dream in Circus is an abstract work of mixed media art, composed of a series of oil paintings. It depicts animals, birds and insects as its protagonists instead of human beings. These animals engage in a soundless dialogue with each other as a letter passes through the film’s frame repeatedly. There are humans portrayed in The Shock Dream as well and as their behaviours become increasingly animalistic, the behaviours of the animals become ever more human-like. Eventually, the line between the two groups begins to blur.
Having grown up in China in the period following Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution (1966 – 1976), the artist was confronted by varied narratives surrounding the state of his nation right before his birth. While the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) official accounts continue to paint a rosy picture of vigorous collective progress during that time, Sun has absorbed several first-hand accounts detailing horrors that were inflicted upon the Chinese people, many of which remain publicly unacknowledged, even to this day. The nuances of collective memory underpin his artistic practice, and in that context, the letter in The Shock Dream takes on a rather troubling tone; it can be interpreted as an official account of historical events that are being discussed by the inhabitants of the circus, each of whom silently take issue with its veracity. However, these creatures, human or otherwise, are all prevented from openly expressing dissent against the system they are confined in. The circus permits no deviations from the party line. After all, the show must go on.
Does the tiger in the circus want to jump through the ring of fire? It does not. Like humans, it too is a product of discipline.
– Xun Sun, artist and curator
Sun talks about the thematics behind this work, telling STIR, “The world is a circus. We live by the rules we make together. You do not want to act according to these rules? It is not allowed. Even going to work every day on time is a circus. Does the tiger in the circus want to jump through the ring of fire? It does not. Like humans, it too is a product of discipline.”
Wryly, the contemporary artist calls the Cultural Revolution a “parallel history”, as though the enormous destruction of human life played out in a different world. He explains that in contemporary Chinese society, it is a taboo topic. Sun says, “The government tries to avoid talking about this history and wants people to forget it. Perhaps, this history will disappear in a few generations.” He believes that the age-old cycle of mass human upheaval and systemic apathy is akin to saṃsāra, the cosmic cycle of death and rebirth that underpins Indian religions, in which we humans face great hardships to attain moksha or freedom.
Parallel Circus treats audiences to Sun’s exemplary visual art, which carries with it the heavy burden of a history that cannot be openly discussed and must instead be examined analogically through art. Despite the dangers attached to its exploration, the artist feels compelled to study and present his perspective on this brutal chapter in Chinese history. Viewers of The Shock Dream in Circus may be left with much to think about, but perhaps it will be the absurdity of it all that stays with them the longest.
‘Parallel Circus’ is being shown at TANK Shanghai from March 9 – July 14.
