Hip hop and counterculture exhibit Altered State opens tomorrow

Photograph: courtesy Art+ Shanghai Gallery (Be by my Side, Huang Yulong)

The Hip Hop Idol competition Rap of China is a reality show sensation. At the same time, the show, and hip hop culture in China overall, has been under official scrutiny with regards to whether or not it promotes ‘harmonious’ values. Still, hip hop culture continues to fold itself into China’s culture and media consciousness.

From tomorrow (October 28) to December 31, Art+ Shanghai Gallery is displaying artists Huang Yulong and Chen Xuangrong's exhibition Altered State. Huang, who studied ceramics in China’s ‘porcelain capital’ Jingdezhen, puts traditional Chinese iconography in hoodies. Chen, who studied printmaking at China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, paints graffitied environments on canvas.

We talk to the pair to find out how counterculture found its way into their art and how they think it might develop in China’s future.

Image: courtesy Art+ Shanghai Gallery (Chen Xuanrong, G1.0.4.9')

How did you discover the counterculture that inspires your work?

CXR I visited the United States in 2012 to study classical paintings in museums, but after looking at so many of them they started to look similar and uniform, even with all the different schools. But when I took the subway or walked down the street, I saw so many different styles of graffiti, and it all reignited my curiosity. Since then, my creativity has revolved around street culture.

HYL I started listening to rap when I was young, really drawn in by its fresh sound and style, which meant wearing hoodies all the time. Then I got into breakdancing and couldn’t live without them.

Photograph: courtesy Art+ Shanghai Gallery ('Snowflake', Huang Yulong)

What makes it special?

CXR Graffiti has a much shorter history than painting, but it’s a very lively form. How it relies on a variety of media, including building walls, public spaces, trash cans, even the weather. And how long a work will exist is unknown, since it can be cleaned away or covered up. All of that makes it feel very alive.

HYL Hip hop culture united the rebellious youth of the post-’80s generation, it changed the spirit of young people. A hoodie expresses all those things, things that I felt when I got into street culture.

Photograph: courtesy Art+ Shanghai Gallery (‘Heaven And Earth’, Huang Yulong)

How do you think hip hop culture will develop in China?

CXR I’m not too worried about it. Underground or commercial, legal or illegal, mainstream or not – as long as it exists, it has life. If people can understand it, accept it, appreciate it or interact with it, that’s even better.

HYL If you want a future, you have to find your own place, find yourself – use your own cultural background as a foundation for growth. If you want to stand out, you have to develop your own style. Otherwise, you’re just ruining your image and losing yourself in it.

Image: courtesy Art+ Shanghai Gallery (Chen Xuanrong, G1.0.4.1)

📍Altered State: Deciphering Urban in the Art of Chen Xuanrong and Huang Yulong, Art+ Shanghai Gallery, 191 Suzhou Nan Lu, near Sichuan Bei Lu. Sun 28 Oct-Mon 31 Dec. Free.

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