Wu Junyong, a third generation media artist in China, majored in new media arts and print making in China Academy of Art, and is actively producing a wide range of works including traditional prints, video, animation and large scale installations. Wu, who had spent his childhood feeling the gap between the inundation of Western capitalism and the radical political changes in China since the Tiananmen Square Massacre, launches a project of torturing images; a game that imposes masochistic pains on the characters, borrowing from the traditional shadow puppet theater. His characters, who are reminiscent of figures in 16th century Flanders paintings such as works by Hieronymus Bosch or Pieter Bruegel, wittily parodies China’s transitional status in which the pre-modern social structure (which was seen as the quintessential evil) changes into envy and anxiety towards the Nouveaux Riche.
Read MoreWu was first introduced to the Korean art scene at ARCO Art Gallery’s <China Gate> in 2006, and has since participated in numerous group exhibitions at the National Museum of Modern Art, CAFA Art Museum and others. Wu is presenting his new piece ‘Thousands of Moon’ which he first introduced at Shanghai Biennale 2012. Inspired by the phrase “A thousand rivers reflect a thousand moons(千月有水千江月)” from the Buddhist scripture(四世因果录) from the Sung dynasty, this piece is a 9 channel animation painted in Chinese ink. Wu carves out a utopia that remains ever elusive despite the characters’ effort to possess the moon, steeped in melancholia.
