Down Town Production: An Exhibition of Chinese Urban Art (2008-09-24 - 2008-11-21)

Down Town Production is a fiercely dynamic group show bringing cutting-edge, urban Chinese art to the UK. Curated by one of China’s leading artists, Yan Lei, the exhibition brings together eight rising stars of contemporary Chinese art whose work reflects the recent dramatic social and economic transformation of China.  It is anticipated that 70% of China’s 1.3 billion population will live in urban areas by 2035. At the end of 2002, records showed that China’s urban population totalled 502 million, living in over 21,000 towns and cities. Down Town Production is a selection of art that reflects and explores this dramatic shift. The artists will give us a taste of China’s emerging popular culture, with works as diverse as avant-garde architect Wang Hui’s self-sufficient animal habitat and ground-breaking L.A.S.E.R. graffiti by conceptual artist, DJ and rapper, MC Yan. L.A.S.E.R. tagging is the very newest form of graffiti art developed only a year ago and currently cropping up in cities all over the world. Courtesy of MC-Yan, London will experience a major laser-tagging event this autumn, as part of the exhibition.