He Xiangyu – Inside the White Cube

Renown for his provocative work spanning across a wide range of media, Chinese contemporary artist He Xiangyu will present his first UK exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey. Inside the White Cube is a programme of exhibitions profiling work by artists who have not been exhibited at the gallery before, and acts as a platform for new international contemporary art.

He Xiangyu’s work addresses many contemporary social and political issues, and comments on the influence of Westernisation, materialism and consumer culture in China. One celebrated work shown in the exhibition is Cola Project, in which He boiled down 127 tonnes of Coca-Cola over the course of one year. The remaining residue from this process includes a black ink used to make Song Dynasty-style traditional landscape paintings, and a pungent, corrosive substance. In this exhibition, the residue is presented in heaped piles, resembling geological remains. Through the use and manipulation of such a ubiquitous consumer product, Cola Project comments on the effects of Western consumer culture on contemporary China.

Another notable work by He Xiangyu included in the exhibition is Tank. Entirely hand sewn by a factory of female needle workers over the course of two years, Tank is a life size military tank made entirely of Italian leather. Through this collapsed and deflated object, He reflects on the advancement of westernisation in China, and also emphasises the dependencies and relationships between political and economic power.

He Xiangyu – Coca-Cola Vitrine (2009-2012)
Courtesy of the artist and White Cube