Dafen Urban Village in Shenzhen, China is known as an art village and the epicenter of painting reproduction in China. Dafen’s identity as an art village has allowed it to dominate the painting industry since the mid-2000s (Arnold, 2017). However, the transition of political conditions and government policies intervened in the labeling of Dafen Village, which is known for its “copy” production, and now the government supports painters in Dafen to sell works that emphasize the “originality” of their paintings.
14 Paintings (Cheng Dongnan, 2023) explores a narrative debate on the trend of commodification of paintings in Dafen through the representation of 14 paintings and the stories that reside behind the works. Questions such as, where will these paintings be displayed? Does market taste influence the paintings? How is “originality” positioned by the painter to be relevant? Each painting answers one by one to build a real picture of the art market ecosystem and how the government and society ‘treat’ paintings and painters (firstfilm.org, 2023).
Director Chen presents the 14 paintings in an “art exhibition” format that translates through a series of painting montages right where the works are installed (whether on a wall on the side of the road, in an office cubicle, or even in an internet café where online games are played). As befits a painting exhibition, Chen also provides quotes—serving as a kind of “artist’s statement”—whether they come from the painter himself, a collector of one of the paintings, or other people in response to the process or the painting itself on a personal level.
The “artis’s statement” is important to be presented alongside the composition of this 14-painting exhibition because of its function as a narrative vehicle in understanding China’s socio-political conditions that take us to take a little peek at the condition of painters seen from major events such as the era of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fragments of the story that are presented through personal quotes from the painters one by one form a landscape of thoughts about what social problems afflict painters in Dafen and what motivates them to be involved in the rotation of the art market in Dafen with their various views on government policies and market demands today.
A contemplation comes through the representation of the fourteen paintings, expressing the feelings of everyone dealing with the chaos of market demand that kills creativity. The banality of production kills the passion in creating works and the jargon of “originality” does not fit the conditions and is too forced. It’s time for those trapped in this situation to recover and move freely again. (Gantar Sinaga) (Ed. Vanis/Trans. Naufal Shabri)
Reference
Arnold, F. (2017). “The World’s Art Factory Is in Jeopardy.” artsy.net. Accessed online in 14 October 2024 via https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-village-60-worlds-paintings-future-jeopardy
FIRST FILM. “14 Paintings’ Director’s Statement.” Accessed online in 14 October 2024 via https://www.firstfilm.org.cn/en/movies-en/film-library-en/14-paintings/
Film Details
14 Paintings (历历如画)
Dongnan Chen | 24 Min | 2023 | China
Official Selection for Spektrum
Festival Film Dokumenter 2024
Screening Schedule
Nov. 2 | 19:00 WIB | Militaire Societeit, TBY
Nov. 7 | 19:00 WIB | Amphitheater, TBY
