Liu Wei
Hopeless Lands. 2009
Video installation, 7:16 min
About the work
The Artist documents the ‘new work’ of local farmers who have been forced to comb through suburban domestic refuse everyday in exchange for meager compensation to supplement their falling agricultural income. As a consequence of Beijing’s rapid economic development, the former rural and farming areas surrounding the city have suffered from relentless urban sprawl. Farmlands have been lost to this expansion, and fields have been replaced by mountains of garbage and waste from the suburban areas.
Through this harrowing film, Liu challenges mainstream media and governments’ celebration of urban development and the prosperity with which it is associated. He illuminates the ugly ‘backyard’ hidden behind Beijing’s modern, appealing and affluent façade, and the overlooked consequences of the urbanisation process.
© From the website of Sharjah Art Foundation.
© Stills: Liu Wei. Repros: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe
Part 2 of the photo tour through Sharjah Biennial 9, 19 March - 16 May 2009. Exhibition 'Provisions for the Future', Curator: Isabel Carlos, 58 participants.