About the Photographer
Shi, Qing
Chinese, b. 1969, Baotou, Inner Mongolia
Shi Qing is an experimental artist working with installation, photography, video, new media, and performance in order to speak about the ritual and psychological aspects of human experience. He uses a variety of media to engage narrative themes--both modern and historical--in order to explore complex social and political issues ranging from globalization to the social context of personal history. His installations are often based on extensive research into the themes he is working with, resulting in a unique, multi-dimensional practice. Due to a strong interest in the sense of time, performance and video also play significant roles in his work.
The photographs in Electricity Feeling are part of a complex installation and performance that took place during the opening of Shi Qing’s first exhibition at the BizArt Art Space in Shanghai in 2006. The images depict two figures engaged in a ritualistic act referencing the martial arts, invoking a psychologically complex relationship and issues of power and control. Through the use of theatrical methods, Qing explores questions about common human consciousness and shared experience. He also investigates the creation and function of narrative by contrasting modern stories and ideologies with old myths and folk tales of the past.
A self-trained artist, Qing was a founding member of two artist collectives in Beijing, Post Sense Sensibility (1999-2002) and the Complete Art Experience Project (2005-2006). Qing’s work has been exhibited at ShanghArt Gallery in Shanghai, Ke Center of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, Long March Space, Beijing, BizArt Center, Shanghai, the Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, the National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic, and the 4th Busan Biennale, Busan Metropolitan Art Museum, Busan, Korea. He lives and works in Beijing.