Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 22 Issue 11

Volume XXII Issue XI Version I 14 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals A Battlegrounds. Net Art and Virtual Worlds in the Work of Chinese Artists In the concurrently emerging RMB City 18 - a virtual world accessible online - the artist focuses on the issue of consumerism and materialism, as Bu Hua does in her works. "Her imaginary city, surrounded by water, is a hybrid of communism, capitalism and socialism, a construction which appropriates the architectural icons of Chinese cities, such as Beijing's 'Bird's Nest' stadium, all condensed into one, indistinguishable megalopolis. She satirises the Chinese obsession with real estat e 19 " . Indeed, the titular metropolis is inspired by the urban planning of Beijing, but also Shanghai and other Chinese cities. It features the Gate of Heavenly Calm with a portrait of a panda in place of Mao Zendong's portrait, the CCTV building or the Oriental Pearl Tower. The artist, through her avatar China Tracy, sold virtual real estate to the willing, thus revealing the mechanisms behind the rapid redevelopment of Chinese cities. In addition, the digital world has become a platform for free discussion of art, urbanisation and other thorny issues affecting Chinese citizens 20 . V. V irtual M andala Lu Yang (1984, Shanghai) is another artist creating virtual worlds as part of her artistic work. Like Bu Hua and Cao Fei, she will create her avatar; moreover, like the pioneer in this field, Feng Mengbo, she uses the specificity of video games to address issues such as contemporary spirituality, identity, gender, discrimination and personal freedom. A strong fascination with Japanese pop culture is also discernible in her work. Since the late twentieth century, the Chinese, but also Koreans and other Asian nations, have imitated selected creations of contemporary Japanese culture, such as manga and anime, cosplay an d the related otaku subculture and kawaii aesthetic 21 . Called Cool Japan for short, this phenomenon also extends to America and Europe. Yoshiko Shimada, an artist and writer, in her essay 'Afterword. Japanese Pop Culure and the Eradication of the History', states that the creation of an image of Japan in Asia through the use of pop culture aims to erase the tragic events of 20th century history perpetrated by the Japanese people, such as mass murder and slave prostitution. In this way, new generations of Asians see Japan only through the prism 18 Official website of the project: https://rmbcity.com/ 19 Luise Guest, Half the Sky: Women Artists in China , Piper Press 2016, p. 28. 20 Xhingyu Chen, Chinese Artists. New Media, 1990-2010 , Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen 2010, p. 165. 21 For more see Magdalena Furmanik-Kowalska, Uwikłane w kultur ę . Współczesna sztuka artystek Japo ń skich I Chi ń skich [Culture Trouble: The Contemporary Art of Japanese and Chinese Women], Kirin Publishing House, Bydgoszcz 2015; Magdalena Furmanik-Kowalska, Social media art and/or interactive art? Exhibitionist: PeeP Stream by Ye Funa and Bei Ou, "World Art.", Volume 12, 2022, Issue 1, pp. 49-66, doi : 10.1080/21500894.2021.1991464 of 'cool' comics, films and fashio n 22 . It sees them as a reflection of freedom, liberty and tolerance. This is especially true of the generation born around 1980, looking for new social role models, a generation which, according to Harold Grieves: "(...) is not only marked by conflicts between traditional values and the furtive promise of an anticipated future, but also by an outright 'fear of plunging into the brutal nightmare of a society based on a combination of totalitarian politics and materialist values' 23 " 24 . Lu constructs virtual worlds that follow the rules typical of RPGs, combining indigenous beliefs, inspiration from Japanese aesthetics and the effects of contemporary neuroscience research. This is perfectly evident in her projects such as UterusMan (2013), Wrathful King Kong Core (2014), and Lu Yang Delusional Mandala (2015). The superhero of the first is an androgynous figure whose body mimics the shape of a womb, "rides in a pelvis-shaped chariot, conquers enemies by altering their DNA, even unleashes streams of blood that set off atomic explosions 25 ". The second a Tibetan Buddhist deity, Yamantaka, guardian of the gateway to hell, in the third is a genderless avatar based on a 3D scan of her face. They all traverse virtual worlds like typical video game characters. This artist's work is perfectly summed up by the art critic Barbara Pollack: "In the psychedelic world of Lu Yang, consciousness is the product of a 3-D printer, manufactured from a blend of neuroscience, androgynous genitalia, digital circuitry, and Tibetan Buddhism. At one moment, an angry deity is eviscerated by a team of scientists; in another, disabled patients twitch to the beat of techno music. Her work is always intriguing and often disturbing, as she foregrounds her research into scientific phenomena and religious experience without allowing this sheer mass of information to overwhelm her keen sense of style 26 . Communing with Lu Yuan's works is difficult but also absorbing. They are reminiscent of dreamlike images or even nightmares. They affect all the senses, often evoking a feeling of revulsion, while at the same time focusing attention on difficult existential dilemmas. They raise sensitive issues of sexuality and creative freedom. They pose questions about the consequences of modern technology and genetic modification. Their aesthetics, verging on kitsch, are part of the Camp 22 Cf. Yoshiko Shimada, Afterword. Japanese Pop Culure and the Eradication of the History. In Consuming Bodies. Sex and Contemporary Japanese Art, ed. by Frank Lloyd, Reaktion Books, London 2002, pp. 186-191. 23 Hou Hanru, Cao Fei. A Mini-Manifesto of New New Human Beings , Flash Art, no. 242, May-June 2005, pp. 126-127. 24 Harold Grieves, Any World's an Abyss , http://www.ima.org.au/pag es/.exhibits/utopia150.php. 25 Barbara Pollack, Lu Yang: Delusional Mandala, COBO SOCIAL, 27 Jun. 2022, https://www.cobosocial.com/dossiers/lu-yang-delusional- mandala/ 26 Barbara Pollack, Lu Yang: Delusional Mandala, COBO SOCIAL, 27 Jun. 2022, https://www.cobosocial.com/dossiers/lu-yang-delusional- mandala/