Beijing, Summer 1983. A group of young artists gathers in the hutongs for a dance party at the home of one of their friends when a policeman happens upon the scene. In the rigid times just after the Cultural Revolution, harsh punishments were dealt to those participating in activities deemed illegal. Several others had already been sentenced to execution by firing squad or been dealt life without parole for hosting similar parties. The policeman insists on arresting the young artists, and in a fit of panic, they beat him unconscious, deciding later to dig an underground prison where they keep him from then on. For thirty-three years, the artists guard the policeman in shifts. Over these thirty-three years, China goes through a massive transformation unbeknownst to the policeman until the summer of 2016 when he escapes…
Drawing inspiration from the contemporary realities of his fast-changing country, Chinese artist Xu Bing spent two years creating his newest work, Phoenix. The installation features two monumental birds fabricated entirely from materials harvested from construction sites in urban China, including demolition debris, steel beams, tools, and remnants of the daily lives of migrant laborers. At once fierce and strangely beautiful, the mythic Phoenixes bear witness to the complex interconnection between labor, history, commercial development, and the rapid accumulation of wealth in today's China. The film Xu Bing: Phoenix documents the process of creating the work through to its installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASSMoCA).
