NEW YORK.- Ise Cultural Foundation is pleased to present the exhibition Looking at the Other, curated by Cecilia Foote. The show features video work and photography by Liang Yue. Installation work by Yin Xiuzhen, and photography by Zhang O who is also represented by her photographic work in the window space of 555 Broadway.

Looking at the Other explores aspects of “Otherness” juxtaposing the everyday and the unfamiliar against issues of gender and how these Chinese women artists tackle the personal, and the domestic and take these same issues to a global level.

Yin Xiuzhen’s socially engaged works, the suitcase replicas of different cities, serve as a repository of collective memories of a way of life in Beijing and in the global arena. By building her suitcases, not only does she build a collection of objects that maps the global city, but she also documents the passage of time.

Zhang O, propelled by her longing for her homeland, goes back to villages in the area where she grew up. There, she photographs little girls. Zhang O’s photographs address her cultural legacy and social realm, yet they also reflect the artist’s experience growing up in China. Zhang O’s works also explore sexuality and power in an intriguing manner. In the window space of 555 Broadway, Zhang O will present examples of her photographic series called China Girls.

Liang Yue examines issues of light and isolation in her photographs and video work. Liang Yue utilizes a psychological approach based on her childhood mementos, dreams and family memories, yet she still deals with the social fabric of Shanghai. As a night wanderer through Shanghai’s cityscape, Liang Yue embarks on a personal journey not only collapsing time and space, but also blurring public and private boundaries.

Traversing time and space is the concept that unifies these three artists. Taking the domestic setting as a point of departure, they move across their immediate environment and beyond. Nostalgia, memories, isolation, alienation and dislocation are other issues that bring these artists together.

Curator: Cecilia Foote, Artists: Liang Yue, Yin Xiuzhen, Zhang O. On view from September 1 thru October 28, 2006. Cecilia Foote is independent curator who launched Project X in 2005. Project X is an interdisciplinary curatorial practice based in San Francisco that fosters contemporary art. This exhibition is part of the ISE Cultural Foundation’s Program for Emerging Curators.