In a hidden corner in 798, lies a fashion surprise for fans of minimalist wear, playful irony and small, independent fashion labels …

Baffled on first sight, I walked the full circumference of the “white cube” before realizing… 

Inside the white elastic “cube” is a maze of elastic partitions, displaying Zhang Da’s designs for his 2008 line. His designs are flattering on many body types, and a refreshingly original take on androgyny.  Zhang Da takes ambiguity to a new level; up can be down, inside can be out, backwards or front. It can all be comfortably stylish (and affordable, price tags all below 500 RMB).

Zhang Da has pioneered his own response to the “T” Shirt: the O Shirt. See the O Shirt and other designs at this temporary store. (Keeping you in suspense…) Information and photos below  (more…)

Who said that temporary shelters can’t be attractive? Japanese architect Shigeru Ban’s research studio banlab built these temporary schools for children in Cheng Du last September, and PingMag features them in an interview with the project director, Wataru Inoue. See more photos of the design and installation process on the Ping Mag site, and enjoy the friendly cooperation between Japanese and Chinese architects and students.

Read the interview and see more images here

For more PingMag architectural “MADness,” read an interview with MAD’s Ma Yansong

In Shenzhen’s OCT Contemporary Art Terminal , Zhang Peili installed his third solo of 2008, again featuring remains, Mute. In this “scene” (a “new form of art” that Zhang Peili has been developing, he contrasts the real and the perceived, the static and the dynamic, over the abandoned reckage of manufacturing sewing tables and two parallel video projections of people working in the exact same space.

Concurrently, at Beijing’s JoyArt Space, Ni Haifeng (artist site) employs similar on-site tailors who shredded, then reconstruct more than 10 tons of reclaimed fabric in Para Production. The result is a wall sculpture that reaches to the ceiling; remains are scattered across the space. The show is curated by Pauline Yao, see more photos of the show and its installation at her site.

Although these two artists have different aims, the similarity of their means is outstanding. Both employ anonymous, live performers in the installation of, and integrally in the manufacture of their works. Both use the reconstructing, reorganizing and recontextualizing of materials, Ni Haifeng working with the fabric itself, and Zhang Peili with video clips that he garnered from a performance within the space. Both display their final product (fabric-sculpture, video montage) amidst the un-edited ruins of its production process.

For more “common threads” and variations on this theme, please reference Zheng Guogu’s Factory exhibition, January 2008 at Beijing’s Tang Contemporary.

More exhibition scenes below . . .

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