Romantique

Romantique, 120x650cm, 2003

In Romantique, one seems to walk into a land that is half the heaven of western religion and half a pastoral Chinese garden. There are cheap plastic leaves, fruits, flowers, and decorations. The little ponds in this paradise emit a light smoke created from dry ice. Viewers can imagine false happiness in this fabricated beautiful paradise. Models act out the poses of figures in western masterpieces by Massacio, Velasquez, Botticelli, Raphael, and Matisse. There’s a Chinese golden Buddha, beautiful princesses, and livestock. There’s a western girl and a Chinese man and his little girl, highlighting the potential conflicts of this complicated international dialogue. These people are very happy, peaceful, and without desire. Like “China Mansion”, the imagery and relations between subjects in “Romantique” are forced, manufactured, chaotic and confusing within this fabricated happiness of man-made utopia. For me such fabricated ideals are like a daydream, a bubble of momentary fantasy.

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