7.21.2009
All about Edward Burtynsky
Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work. I set course to intersect with a contemporary view of the great ages of man; from stone, to minerals, oil, transportation, silicon, and so on. To make these ideas visible I search for subjects that are rich in detail and scale yet open in their meaning. Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries are all places that are outside of our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis.
These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.
In the southern province of Guangdong, one can drive for hours along numerous highways that reveal a virtually unbroken landscape of factories and workers’ dormitories. These new ‘manufacturing landscapes’ in the southern and eastern parts of China produce more and more of the world’s goods and have become the habitat for a diverse group of companies and millions of busy workers.
Pick up almost any commonly used product and you won’t be surprised to find that it was made in China. It is here that 90 per cent of your Christmas decorations are made, 29 per cent of color television sets, 75 per cent of the world’s toys, 70 per cent of all cigarette lighters and probably every T-shirt in your closet. The hard drive for your iPod mini was made in the city of Guiyang. Located in China’s poorest province, Guiyang is more noted for its poverty than for making state-of-the-art one-inch hard drives. Working the assembly lines, China’s youthful peasant population is quickly abandoning traditional extended-family village life, leaving the monotony of agricultural work and subsistence income behind for a chance at independence.
Inexpensive labor from the countryside, important as it is to China’s growth as a tradingnation, is one major facet of its success. Just as important is a rising industrial production capability. China now plays a central role in the global supply chain for the world’s multinational corporations. Wal-Mart alone outsourced $15 billion US in manufacturing, making the company (if it were a country) China’s eighth largest trading partner. Altogether, nearly half of China’s foreign trade is tied to foreigninvested enterprises in China. This investment stimulated managerial, organizational and technical expertise that China has fully integrated into its business model. Since the early 1990s, more than one-half trillion U.S. dollars have flowed into this country’s manufacturing sector, mainly from its Asian neighbors; Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Singapore and then additionally from North America and Europe. China has moved up the manufacturing ladder and today exports an increasingly sophisticated array of products. Its manufacturing future rests not just in being able to absorb technology but also in becoming an innovator and a source for new technology.
Edward Burtynsky
三藏：一個獨立先行者的文化足跡
三藏：一個獨立先行者的文化足跡
究竟你心目中的唐三藏是源自《西遊記》，還是中國歷史上一個罕見的「獨立思想家」？前者給我們對三藏的人物想像，又理應如何對照後者在現實中曾幾隻身跨越多元文化的「取經行動」？ 時至今天，何以仍多把三藏偏側在小說的想像而少對其獨立自主作出較具體的文化評論？我們試圖探討箇中可能隱藏著的文化底蘊，思考中華文化的異象……
主持：何應豐（瘋祭舞臺藝術監督）嘉賓講者：何國良博士（理工大學應用社會科學系副教授）、朗天（文化策劃及評論）
What do you know of Sānzàng? A character from the classic novel, Journey to the West, or an independent thinker and rare gem in China's past? How much does the image projected in the novel reflect Sānzàng's courageous individual pilgrimage that saw him brave cross-cultural challenges to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures? And why, even today, is analysis generally confined to his fictional persona rather than his independent quest? This discussion explores the implications of such treatment and its close connections with China's history and culture.
Host: Ho Ying-fung (Artistic Director, Theatre Fanatico)
Guest Speakers: Dr. Ho Kwok-leung (Associate Professor, The HK Polytechnic University), Long Tin (Cultural Curator and Critic)
October 3, 2009 (Saturday) 3:00p.m. - 4:30p.m. / AC1, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Culture Centre
