BERLIN.- The inaugural exhibition of newly founded Times Art Center Berlin highlights the incredible variety of video art created in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) between the mid-1980’s and now. The D-Tale, Video Art from the Pearl River Delta introduces the shifting cultural landscape and visions of the region in an era of globalisation.

In its inaugural three-part exhibition, Times Art Center Berlin will present a vital component of the Chinese art world which remains lesser known to international audiences and is underrepresented on the global art scene, namely the contemporary art production from the Pearl River Delta (PRD). A highly specific region of China with its distinct cultural characteristics and traditions, the PRD has been closely related to international influences and interwoven with popular culture from the beginning. Frequent exchanges between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the impacts of Hong Kong’s popular culture, film, television and pop music concerning visual culture, coupled with a sensitivity for and references to international new media art, led to rapid experimentation in video art across the entire PRD.

Video art in the region of the PRD emerged as early as the mid-1980’s. "Videotage" in Hong Kong and "Southern Artists Salon" in Guangzhou were pioneers and galvanizing creative forces in the field. This movement was carried forward, in the 1990s, by the rise of certain collectives and individuals, including the "Big Tail Elephants Working Group," the "Borges Bookstore," "U-theque," and artists Jiang Zhi and Cao Fei. By adopting the medium of moving images, artists from the PRD are looking for freedom and forms of resistance against dominant ideology and powers, turning ordinary gestures into artistic strategies to construct diverse "personal utopias."

Their video practices represent the most ground-breaking and powerful visions of contemporary art and culture in the PRD. As a result, the PRD has become a creative hub for international exchange and art activities, as well as a deviating model which inspires artists from other region. Its inaugural exhibition is part of the Operation PRD curatorial framework following the exhibition Big Tale Elephants at the Guangdong Times Museum in 2016.

Times Art Center Berlin is an initiative by the Guangdong Times Museum.

Curated by HOU Hanru, XI Bei