Huang Yong Ping

This book is published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at the MAXXI, Rome, from 2014-2015. The title of an exhibition so eschatological refers to the famous Bible passage telling the miracle in which a rod is turned into a serpent. The entire show is designed as an exodus, a migration of power and knowledge, and a process of liberation and emancipation from our conventional social and cultural values.

 

After founding one of the most important Chinese artistic avant-garde movements, the artist brings into question the rationalist and anthropocentric hegemony of a humanity that has become increasingly detached from its origins. Bâton Serpent examines include the effects of globalisation, cultural negotiations, migration, neo-colonialism, religious conflicts, economic change, and political fundamentalism.

 

The artist analyses the contemporary geopolitical situation through a complex and ambivalent dialectic that illustrates the interweaving of historical, cultural and political powers. At the same time it proposes a new force, in the form of dialogue between religions and cultures.

Published by Mousse Publishing, 2015

This book is no longer in print.

(Currently unavailable for purchase from Gladstone)

 

Paperback
English/Italian
216 pages
6.7 x 9.6 inches; 17 x 24.5 cm
ISBN 978-88-6749-151-3