Garden of Earthly Delights
Zhou Xiaohu
周啸虎
Production date
2016
Object Detail
Media
two-channel video (colour, sound)
Measurements
22 min
Notes
Zhou Xiaohu, who describes his work as ‘social installation’ - a reference to the ‘social sculpture’ espoused by Joseph Beuys - has extended his hybrid multi-disciplinary practice into longer, immersive video works such as the 22-minute, two-channel Garden of Earthly Delights (2016), which takes its title from the fantastical imaginings of Hieronymus Bosch. In this collaboration with the famous Zhejiang Taishun Puppet Troupe, the marionettes and their traditional opera style are placed in contemporary locations such as a power plant, a mine, and other urban environments, juxtaposing Zhuangzi’s fables with contemporary reality. Zhou Xiaohu sees a parallel between these various imaginary visions and the absurdities of life in China today, which he describes as a costly, wasteful ‘doomsday carnival.’
Accession number
2016.119