Gao Ling
Gao Ling 高灵
Gao Ling (born 1980) has an interdisciplinary approach, encompassing installation, photography and performance. Within her works Gao challenges the relationship of the individual and the norms dictated by society, often re-interpreting and re-appropriating them in a humorous fashion. Her practice engages with issues related to women’s rights and the environment in mainland China.[1]
Biography
Gao Ling, born in China, has lived in London, Beijing, Shanghai, and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a conceptual artist whose diverse works explore themes including feminism, environmental protection, social phenomena, and human nature. Utilizing mediums like photography, installation, performance art, and painting, her creations are characterized by humor, wit, and sharpness, often addressing pressing societal and daily life issues. Many of her works incorporate interactivity, inviting public participation and direct engagement with art. Gao's artworks have been showcased at museums, galleries, festivals, and international conferences.[2]
Gao Ling was featured as one of the 16 Women Artist in Contemporary China by UK Tate Modern Museum. [2]
Early work experience
Visual Design
At the start of her artistic career, Gao Ling worked mainly in visual design, as she had studied visual arts.[1]
Mobile Application Design
Gao Ling then moved on to designing icons and user interfaces for mobile applications, but then stopped enjoying the work and didn't like working in an office. [1]
Working with Mr and Mrs Wu Shanzhuan
Gao Ling met friends of Wu Shanzhuan and his wife Inga Svala Thórsdóttir, who introduced her to the couple. Gao Ling began to help them with their photography and design work, which lasted two or three years.[1]
Participation in exhibitions
Gao Ling participated in an exhibition called "Get It Louder", an exhibition of Chinese artists from around the world. There she met many like-minded people with whom she began to work.[1]
Artworks
NvQuan
Hey!TTTTouch Me! at Shanghai metro
Hey!TTTTouch Me!
NvQuan - 女泉Fountain
Nv Quan is an artistic installation that challenges conventional notions of convenience and progress. Unlike previous avant-garde movements such as Duchampian overturn or sensationalist displays akin to Lady Gaga, Nv Quan embodies a subtle and intimate approach. It rejects the grandiosity often associated with "true" artists like Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. Instead, Nv Quan presents itself as a delicate, hand-held object, inviting contemplation on everyday actions like urination. Through this simplicity, the installation invites viewers to reconsider the significance of mundane experiences and the beauty found within them.[3]
Hey! TTTTouch Me
Hey! TTTTouch Me is an art project initiated by Gao Ling. It involves the transformation of kitchen utensils, including soup pots and tea strainers, into wearable bras. These bras are specifically designed to mitigate body collisions and awkward encounters during crowded subway commutes.[4]
Subsequently, Gao expanded her artistic endeavors to encompass a series of interactive projects in public spaces. These initiatives evolved into events that exerted a profound influence on both society and humanity, reflecting Gao's commitment to addressing social issues through creative interventions.[4]
The Big Mist
The Big Mist is an art project initiated by Gao Ling in 2013, with the primary objective of raising awareness about air pollution and advocating for its improvement, particularly in urban areas.[5]
The project was launched in London and took the form of an open call for creative photographic submissions via social media platforms such as Facebook, Weibo, and Douban. Participants were encouraged to respond to the theme of environmental air pollution in Asia through their submissions.[5]
Numerous submissions were received from various locations worldwide, including Beijing, Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Berlin, London, and Madrid. The project aimed to utilize performance and humor in photographic form to challenge the issues of over-industrialization and pollution while serving as a collective silent protest against environmental degradation.[5]
Exhibitions
- 2023, Learning to Land: A Story of Crossing Paths and Intergenerational Histories, San Francisco[2]
- 2023, Kim Anno - SIGNs: an installation and participatory micro-opera, a glowing box & collapsing proscenium for an upside down world of ecologic disaster & shifting identity[2]
- 2022, Spectacle Of Nature, Coulter Gallery, Stanford university[2]
- 2022, WOMEN exhibitions 10 Years Conversation, San Francisco[2]
- 2022, FELLOWS, SNAP art center Shanghai, School Of Visual Arts, New York[2]
- 2021, JinguLi Art Museum (Suzhou, China)[6]
- 2019, Curve Restaurant, The Little Museum (Shanghai, China)[7]
- 2018, One If By Land, Power Long Museum (Shanghai, China)[7]
- 2018, Infinite Cycle - 41 Ross, Chinese Culture Center of SF [7]
- 2017, 210 Wenshui Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai (Shanghai, China)[6]
- 2017, The body and the theatre – Global Female Artist Exhibition, Art Amoy (Xiamen, China)[7]
- 2015, The Contesting Body, Ray Art Center (Shanghai, China)[6] [7]
- 2013, Night-wandering 2: Market, Beijing, China[1]
- 2013, GASP! - WYNG Master Award Finalist, WMA + Polytechnic University (Hong Kong, China)[7]
- 2013, The 1st Biennale of Chinese Artists, Asia House, London[7]
- 2013, WOMEN travel exhibition, Miami Beach Urban Studios Gallery[7]
- 2012, WOMEN travel exhibition, Chinese Culture Center of SF[7]
- 2012, Night-wandering 1: Hutong[1]
- 2011, WOMEN travel exhibition, EMG Shanghai[7]
- 2011, Absent Identity - The 3rd Chinese Female Artists Nomination Exhibition, Fujian Art Museum[7]
- 2010, Down-stream Garage[7]
- 2009, Milan Design Week: CHINA DESIGN MARKET[7]
- 2009, PUBLIC Research[7]
- 2007, Get It Louder[7]
Publications[8]
- WOMEN ARTIST IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA - TATE MODERN MUSEUM,UK GAO Ling interview, 16 WOMEN ARTIS IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA , By Dr. Monica Merlin[1]
- Visual Activism in the 21st Century: Art, Protest and Resistance in an Uncertain World, Article, ‘ Ripples in water ’. Minor Episodes of Feminist Visual Activism by Three Women Artists in the PRC (2007-2015), Monica Merlin (Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar), Edited By Stephanie Hartle & Darcy White, BLOOMSBURY publication
- Brand New Art from China – A Generation on the rise, Article, By BARBARA POLLACK, art critic and curator, I.B. Tauris (September 4, 2018)
- Archiving the collected anomic sentiments: the art of GAO Ling, Article, By Vennes Cheng, WYNG Foundation, Hong Kong
- International Contemporary Chinese Art magazine <YISHU>, WOMEN exhibition, Hey! TTTTouch Me, By Alpesh Kantilal Patel
- Cengage Learning, Article, Hey! TTTTouch Me
Reference Sites
- https://www.tate.org.uk/research/research-centres/tate-research-centre-asia/women-artists-contemporary-china/gao-ling
- https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%AB%98%E7%81%B5/59780182
- https://www.gaoling.me/pagecv
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Merlin, Monica (2013/11/15). "GAO LING 高灵". Tate. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Gao, Ling. "Ling GAO's artwork". Ling GAO's artwork.
- ↑ Gao, Ling. "NvQuan女泉Fountain". Ling GAO's artwork.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gao, Ling. "Hey!TTTTouch Me". Ling GAO's artwork.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Gao, Ling. "The Big Mist 大雾". Ling GAO's artwork.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "高灵（艺术家）". 百度百科.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 Gao, Ling. "Exhibitions". Ling GAO's artwork.
- ↑ Gao, Ling. "Publication". Ling GAO's artwork.