 Old Fengdu, Chongqing Municipality, 2002 Sze Tsung Leong History Images Artist Sze Tsung Leong's work examines the spatial consequences of rapid urban development in China. The photographs in "History Images" reveal the seemingly instantaneous disappearance and appearance of huge swaths of urban fabric, or in some cases, entire cities. Leong records precise moments in the history of these places, such as the Xuanwu District of Beijing, where Ming and Qing Dynasty courtyard houses, partially destroyed, wait to be demolished to make way for luxury housing; or a field of rubble that is now Old Fengdu, a city razed to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. Leong captures the physical implications of this development process - landscapes imprinted with both irrevocable loss and anticipation of the future. The scale of urban development currently underway in China is by far the greatest in the world, and yet these photo-graphs are not only about China. As Leong says, "They are about urban erasure, historical absence, and new development of which China may currently have some of the clearest and perhaps most extreme manifestations". Though the physical outcome of these development projects may be familiar, it remains to be seen how the widespread loss of cultural heritage in built form will effect the future of these cities, and others like them all over the world. "History Images" features a series of eight large-format color prints, all taken from a distant vantage point, looking out over expansive sites in cities throughout China - each one in a state of radical transformation. "History Images" is the first solo exhibition by Sze Tsung Leong in New York City. Born in Mexico City (1970), he lives and works in Beijing and New York City. Storefront's exhibition program is made possible with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; as well as Storefront's Exhibition Committee, Board of Directors, and members. Exhibition: June 10 - July 31, 2004 Gallery hours: Tue-Sat 11am - 6pm Storefront for Art and Architecture 97 Kenmare Street USA-New York, NY 10012 Telephone +1 212 431 5795 Fax +1 212 431 5755 Email info@storefrontnews.org www.storefrontnews.org |
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