Blink of an Eye at the Barbican brought together a series of short films showcasing Beijing urbanisation.
Premiering in July to a sold-out cinema at the Barbican Blink of an Eye showcased Beijing urbanisation through a series of short films.
The short film collection was curated by Chongjin Gan and Yutong Yu.
Blink of an Eye: Beijing’s Urbanisation on Film features four short films spanning 50 years of Chinese history. They focused on the urban development and transformation of Beijing and its surrounding areas.
The exhibition screened the films Recycled (2012), Up Down (2007), Artists of Yuanmingyuan (1995), and Shunqiziran (2020).
Together, the program: immerses viewers in years of social collective memory from Beijing residents, documents the last moments of an artist village, a split-screen depiction of the city’s central axis, and shows an experimental art video set in the newly constructed Beijing satellite city Xiong’an New Area.
Blink of an Eye premiered at the Barbican cinema 2 in London.
They screened the short films on July 11th.
Curator Yutong Yu explained that the inspiration for the series came from her own experiences and memories of living in Beijing. She aimed to portray a version of Beijing and its people from a personal and grassroots perspectives.
Chongjin Gan co-curated the exhibition. She added that “the short films portray Beijing, but not just Beijing, they touch on a global topic.”
“We aim to present to the audience how individual experiences are recorded and expressed in an era of rapid change and development. If urbanization is indeed irreversible, it’s important to preserve and share these experiences.”
Audience member Hester Yang commented, “It’s nostalgic to see everything related to my hometown, Beijing, here in London.”
Another attendee, Anqi, remarked, “I was surprised to see so many foreign viewers. The struggles of the young artist in ‘Artist of Yuanmingyuan’ concerning rent and survival are still relevant today. The question of how artists can survive in an ever-changing urban environment is timeless.”
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