Chinese Boxes

> german version

Material: 220 takeaway boxes, 48 antistatic cleanroom caps, 5 photographs, each 60 x 40 cm, 1 HD-Beamer, 1 film-loop, Full HD 1080 P Length: 18 min, without sound






photos(1) Dieter Fietzke / (2-6) Andreas Langfeld, 2014

The conceptual installation at Kunstverein Ruhr, which examines burial rituals and related customs of mourning, is made up of an object-based group of works and a media installation. Forms of communication between the living, the dead and the undead are related to the tradition of Chinese funeral offerings. Despite the prevalence of industrial production, these paper imitations of objects of mass consumption are largely crafted by hand. They play a role in a ritual context by being sacrificed and burnt, for the most part during the Qingming Festival, the Chinese day of the dead.

These paper objects assist the dead in their passage to the afterworld, and enable surviving family members to maintain contact with them long after their burial. This is done by interpreting the rising smoke and the flight of the ash.

The presentation at Kunstverein Ruhr stages, in a "serial object-landscape", elements of the new ritual of Chinese Boxing. Three Chinese workers, stacked takeaway boxes, cleanroom clothing and a 20-minute film open up a new conduit to mysterious and unfulfilled desires.

 

Cast Zhuona Hue, Qingqing Lyu, Ximin Yan, Ning Wang
Crew: camera: Dieter Fietzke / camera (photo): Andreas Langfeld / editor: Janine Dauterich / concept, casting, director: Susanne Weirich / producers: Robert Bramkamp, Susanne Weirich (BramkampWeirich GbR)
With kind support by: Epson Deutschland, Stadtsparkasse Essen, Kulturbüro Essen, KWI Essen und Museum Folkwang .


2014 Essen, Kunstverein Ruhr