PARS PRO TOTO

Online Screenings by peer to space

Pars Pro Toto is peer to space’s online series showcasing video art works which focus on very personal stories narrated by the artist or by the protagonist. The works are embedded in a thematic context of cultural, social, political, or environmental issues. A new iteration focusing on a further topic will be released quarterly. Pars Pro Toto creates a digital space for users to be silent observers and to simultaneously witness the social complexity of the world. By discovering artworks based on individual experiences yet presented in a broader context, the series demonstrates how the personal symbolizes a part of the whole, a pars pro toto. The personal story seen as an extract of an overall reality becomes visible and fits into the mosaic of the collective experience. Exploring larger issues through the individual lens activates awareness within the viewers. This leads to a deeper and more empathetic understanding of today’s global social conditions. The series promotes the importance of freedom of expression and the necessity of providing a voice for everyone as a basis for a caring and participatory society.

Hou Lang Tui Qian Lang (后浪推前浪)

(Online from January 1 until March 31, 2021)

Works by Popo Fan, Yafei Qi, Gary Zhexi Zhang

Curated by Gloria Aino Grzywatz

The fourth screening of PARS PRO TOTO explores China's younger generation — one characterized by the gap between tradition and modernity. The title refers to the Chinese phrase Hou Lang Tui Qian Lang (后浪推前浪), meaning the later wave, i.e. the following generation, pushes the former. Society changes and progresses from one generation to another without pause. The works of the artists Yafei Qi, Popo Fan and Gary Zhexi Zhang reveal a strong urge to reorient within this generation. While their parents witnessed the end of the Cultural Revolution and the opening policy in China, they grew up with enormous progress and growth. This gap translates into the personal interests and perspectives of young Chinese who increasingly follow their own needs. The attempt to escape from social pressure and to fulfill one's wishes is new in China, absent in previous generations. Therefore, the themes of this new generation of artists increasingly revolve around their own perceptions, subjective experiences and everyday ways of life — and the common denominator for all of them — the search for their own identity. How can one anchor oneself in a country that is changing as rapidly as China without losing oneself in the process?

**Yafei Qi (CN), Wearing the Fog, video, 13:38 min., 2016**

Yafei Qi's work Wearing the Fog shows a Chinese family coexiting. Characterized by mutual indifference and alienation, their time together and reflects the profound influence of parents on their children. Although the disagreements between the generations seriously divide the family, the adolescents secretly rebel under a seemingly peaceful surface. The prevailing imbalance is metaphorically underscored by the city where the family lives. Due to the rapidly growing industry in the area, its inhabitants suffer under the heavy air pollution. Both smog and the necessary masks make communication difficult in daily life. These impediments disrupt real contact and exchange. Like a dense blanket, the fog covers public and private life.

yafeiqi.com

**Popo Fan (CN), Mama Rainbow, video, 28:06 min., 2012**

Popo Fan’s work Mama Rainbow deals with the topic of same-sex love in China. At present, Chinese parents still struggle when finding out that their child is gay or lesbian. Since this contradicts both their own and the values of the state, the vast majority still do not accept their child’s sexual orientation. Yet a pioneering generation of Chinese parents are increasingly committed to securing societal acceptance for their LGBTQ children. The film shows six mothers from all over China who speak openly about their experiences with their gay and lesbian children. With their perspective, they redefine Chinese family ties.

popofan.net

**Gary Zhexi Zhang (CN), Lacoste1, video, 8:34 min., 2015**

Kopie von lacoste1 still 2 Klein Gary.jpeg

Gary Zhexi Zhang Porträt Zugeschnitten.jpg

The title of Gary Zhexi Zhang's work Lacoste1 refers to a fake designer store that used to be located near the artist's grandmother's house in Suzhou, his home town. While his grandmother's house preserves the past as if in a time capsule, the world outside these four walls has changed significantly. Similar to the other outlets in the area, the store has long since been demolished and replaced by a shopping center with authentic luxury brands— among them a large Lacoste store. The work takes this anecdote as a starting point to address authenticity within China's hybrid culture shaped by globalization.

zhexi.info