Quotes from art critic John Mcdonald on Jiawei’s Tower Of Babel
“the ultimate exclamation mark on twentieth century history.”
Jiawei Shen’s epic history painting, Tower of Babel, is finally completed after a sustained effort of over 10 years. James Bradley, filmmaker, will also be able to finish his documentary film on Jiawei Shen with the launch of this painting by John McDonald.
Words by JoHn McDonald
The last great work of art that had a powerful political impact may have been Picasso’s Guernica (1937)… Anybody can declare themselves a political artist nowadays, but few honestly believe that their work is actually helping to bring about social change. Among so-called ‘political artists’ almost nobody shares Jiawei’s recognition of the all-encompassing nature of “the total state”. Few have the ability or the desire to understand the difficulties, frustrations and absurdities posed by any artistic activity that sets out to make an impression on this monolith. To persist, in the sure knowledge of one’s ultimate failure, is the kind of dilemma that the Existentialists saw as fundamental to the human condition. For a veteran of the Cultural Revolution, to survive, to laugh, to make sense, and to shine a beam of light into the murky recesses of politics, is a kind of triumph.
Catalogue Essay, Shen Jiawei, Hazelhurst Regional Art Gallery, August 1, 2010
