A Visual Explanation of Life in China

by+Yi+Mei

Since hes lived in China， Austra- lian Garrie Maguire has been frequently asked what his life is like. As a visual communication adviser for Red Gate Gallery as well as an artist himself， Garrie Maguire decided to answer the question the best way he knows how： an exhibition， China： Chinese， which explores a variety of themes related to Chinese culture.

“I want to start a conversation about life in China，” explains Maguire. He believes some works could jar foreign points of view as well as some of the exhibitions juxtaposition of imagery. “Art is born of culture，” he continues. “One accepts the culture they grow up in， unless their personal experience conflicts with it， or they enter another culture and that culture influences them.” He admits that when he first came to China， he discovered that he had to reconstruct his entire method of imagining the world and that his Western logic did not work here. “We see the world very differently. Things we take for granted in our own culture make no sense in China. Also， visual art is more important here than performing arts； in ‘foreign countries its the opposite.”

Maguire selected works that connect history and culture to the present day because he believes perhaps the biggest enigma on the Chinese mainland since 1911 has been how traditional culture and modernity can co-exist. “Much of the Chinese art Ive included is trying to reconcile modernity with history or at least find a link，” Maguire adds. “It is impossible to wipe clean a peoples sense of history； it is possible to change it to something else. The fabric of each city still retains a memory of what has gone before. I can see signs， scars and beauty from all the Chinese periods dating back a thousand years here in Beijing. I cannot see ‘all of Chinese culture， Im still discovering after three years of living here. But art gives us a window to see， to discuss with others.”