Newman Huo

    DAI YUN, a sculptor at Shenzhen Sculpturing Institute, is known for his work with bricks. The young artist will display his recent works at Shenzhen Art Gallery in the Shenzhen Book City CBD store, Futian District until March 31.

    Titled “Still Life,” the works on display resemble everyday household items bought from supermarkets and department stores, such as coffee mugs, tea cups, water bottles, coke cans, milk boxes, shampoo bottles, and dishwasher detergent containers.

    These have all been created by the artist over the past two years. As part of a government-funded project to promote Shenzhen artists, this has been the first time Dai has held his one-man exhibition in the city.

    “Those bottles and cans are products of our culture of mass production, and therefore are channels through which I can better understand our consumer society,” said Dai.

    “Those bottles and cans are important to me. I regard them as symbols of industrialization and the modern way of life,” he said.

    “However, the fetishisation of commodities that is inevitable in our modern commercialized world has also aroused my nostalgia for the simplicity and temperance of an agricultural society,” he said.

    Born in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province in 1971, Dai graduated from the sculpture department of the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts in 1995. He had taught in the academy for five years until he moved to the Shenzhen Sculpture Institute in 2000.

    In 2007, Dai created his “Brick Automobile” series out of bricks, which included a BMW Z4 and a Mercedes-Benz SLK. The two cars put the artist into the national spotlight when they were exhibited in Beijing and Shanghai. 

    Dates: Through March 31

    Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Monday

    Add: Shenzhen Art Gallery, Shenzhen Book City CBD store, Futian District (福田区中心书城深圳艺廊)

    Buses: 15, 34, 38, 60, 71, 221, 235, 371, 373

    Metro: Shi Min Zhong Xin Station (Civic Center Station 市民中心站)