Person
Artist
Jian Jun Xi
奚建军
Date of birth
1962
Place Of birth
Jiangsu, China
Biography
Born in China in 1962, Jian Jun Xi has lived and worked in Britain since the 1980s. He studied at the Beijing Central Academy of Art and Design (now part of Tsinghua University) and later at Goldsmiths College London. His work reveals his ongoing fascination with power and its relationship to the individual. His works – mostly performances with fellow artist Cai Yuan under the name ‘Mad for Real’ – explore subjects ranging from military power (via a scale model of a “Chinese” aircraft carrier) to the power of the art market and the establishment of artistic value (the pair jumped on Tracey Emin’s ‘Bed’ in 1999 at Tate Britain’s Turner Prize exhibition and attempted to urinate on Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’ in 2000). Their works are intentionally humorous and slyly subversive, recalling the anarchistic anti-art impulses of Dada, yet it has often been noted that the historical and political context of their collaborative works have their roots in their Chinese origins. In addition to his collaborations with Cai Yuan, Jian Jun Xi maintains his independent practice, creating installation and sculptural works that reveal a similar preoccupation with power in all its forms. His work has been widely shown internationally in both solo and group exhibitions.
