Contemporary Art from China in Liverpool Now: \'The Real Thing\'

This exhibition, which runs to 10 June 2007 is already attracting interest from across Europe. It matches an exhibition now being mounted in China, entitled 'Aftershock: Contemporary British Art l990-2006'. They have Tracey Emin’s bed and soiled accessories, as well as the statue of Stephen Hawking made by the Chapman brothers. All representative, if somewhat backward looking, today. Much has been eventuating in China, as they say. The avant-garde has become an accepted feature, and so it is no longer by definition an avant-garde any more, which it once was. The most dramtic piece of sculpture at Tate Liverpool is undoubtedly Ai Weiwei’s spiralling 'Work in Progress'. This illuminated manifestation is inspired by Vladimir Tatlin’s famous 'Monument to the Third International' and is made of glass and steel. The sculpture is highly relevant given its representation of rapid change. That is what the new China art scene is all about.