xindanwei chitchat edition 10: “Global Identity”-Screening of Experimental Film and Video from Three New-Generation Artists

xindanwei chitchat edition 10: “Global Identity”-Screening of Experimental Film and Video from Three New-Generation Artists

Time: 7:30-9:30pm Friday June, 25th

Cost:free

Host:Jos Diegel, Holly Rodricks, Zhu Xiaowen

Abstract
Identity is based on a person’s position and recognition of self , which must be generated in a certain society.

In a global environment, the notion of “nation” and “culture” enlarge the similarities and differences of people’s identities; however, what kind of standards are we using to limit our identity? If these standards mostly come from external factors, how do we form our individual opinions? If our identities are only confirmed by these external factors, what is inside is only emptiness and loneliness.

In China, metropolitan cities like Shanghai are becoming more and more international, but that does not decrease the sense of distance between “Chinese” and “foreigner”.  That is why we always treat people of different nationalities with different standards. It actually shows the uncertainty of our own identities, because only the uncertain issue needs to be underlined. How to regard our identity in the global environment with open eyes and minds, and how to find our own pursue and position in spite of the consistent change in the external world, is a new question raised by “global indentity”.

This screening introduces three new-generation visual artists from different countries, including Dutch German artist Jos Diegel, Indian American artist Holly Rodricks, and Chinese-born video artist Zhu Xiaowen. All three have international backgrounds. Some of their work is directly related to the theme of Global Identity; other pieces reflect the artists’ critical thinking of social culture in a wider perspective. Their work has been showed many times in Europe and North America and has won various awards; however, this is their first time communicating with a Shanghai-based audience. We hope that this audience will watch their films and videos with an open mind. The screening will take one hour, after which the audience will have the opportunity to communicate with the artists directly. Zhu Xiaowen will be present, while the other two artists will chat with us online.

Jos Diegel

Jos Diegel is half Dutch half German. He lives and works in Offenbach, a city in Germany where various types of immigrants gather together. He received his Diploma from Academy of Arts and Design Offenbach. Jos is a politically motivated painter and filmmaker. His work has been showed nationally and internationally in a number of exhibitions, screenings, and festivals, including BERLINALE 2009 in the European Filmmarket, European Media Art Festival Osnabrück 2009, and his film Größere Leinwände, Längere Hales (Bigger Canvas, Longer Necks) was nominated the German Film Price 2009 in the category of experimental film.

Holly Rodricks

Holly Rodricks was born in Chicago. She received her BFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, with a concentration in Video and Photography. Holly is currently an MFA candidate at Syracuse University in the Department of Transmedia, with an emphasis in Art Video. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally in a number of exhibitions, screenings, and festivals.

Her family emigrated to the United States a few years before she was born. With them came a rich cultural legacy, much of which conflicted with typical American paradigms. While not always evident on the surface, her artistic process is largely informed by this consistent discord.
It an attempt to reconcile these difference and to better understand her role, a portion of Holly’s research is dedicated to a reclamation of her heritage through the study of Indian history and language. In addition, she regularly works with her parents and grandparents, investigating their experiences, their reasoning, and how their values influence her position. The result is a painfully complex balance of embracing certain expectations and discarding others.

Zhu Xiaowen

Zhu Xiaowen was born in Shanghai, China. She received her BA in Film, TV and Media Arts from Tongji University. Currently she is a MFA Art Video student in Syracuse University, USA. During her undergraduate study, she did an exchange program at Academy of Arts and Design Offenbach in Germany. Her experience in Europe and America has a unique influence on her artistic creation. She works mostly with documentary film, experimental video and multi-media installations. Richly influenced by different cultures, she has a strong interest in the notion of “international identity” that reflects certain social and cultural issues based on her own understandings.
Zhu Xiaowen is a visual poet, social critic and aesthetic researcher. Her work has been showed in a number of exhibitions and festivals all over the world, including Strozzina Art Space (Florence,Italy), Sainsbury Center  for Visual Arts (Norwich, UK), Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago, USA), Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse, USA), Festival Junger Talente (Frankfurt, Germany) and etc. Her one-minute short film Carousel Travel got the jury award of one-minute documentary film festival in DOK Munich 2010.