"New Works"
Peter Bialobrzeski
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Nail Houses
Nail Houses stick out like nails in a piece of hardwood that can either be pulled out or hammered in. Like isolated bastions, they hold out against the many real estate and infrastructure projects of public authorities and developers.
In everyday speech in China, such buildings whose owners refuse to move out of their homes and into new housing are called “dıˉngzihù” protest in an era of high-speed urbanization.(1) White chalk symbols announce chai (demolition) in many places in China. Not only traditional houses fall victim to this wave of modernization. Entire historic city districts and with them a rich past and culture are also forced to give way to new urban centers lacking any historical context: “Until what is old is gone, new things cannot come,” says a Chinese proverb. In the realization of building projects, Mao’s credo “no construction without destruction” still seems to apply, since existing guidelines for the protection of historic buildings and monuments are often ignored in practice. The loss of buildings is immense; the loss of cultural heritage significant.(2) In the past two decades, undesired residents have frequently been evicted and forcibly resettled, not infrequently by use of force.
In the midst of demolition and new construction are “generic cities” (3) emerging that are void of any Chinese identity? Considering the pragmatic spirit and openness towards reform shared by his countrymen, architect Ma Quingyun does not consider this as a concern. “That’s true Chineseness,” Ma says. “Everything is in constant mutation, nothing is set as a fixity. We don’t follow any spatial models. We don’t care about the look of the building so much, so everybody still lives in Shanghai in ugly buildings. We care about how convenient life is.” (4) However, more and more homeowners are trying to slow the momentum of growth and are fighting for their familiar dwellings or for reasonable compensation for the loss of their homes. As a result of the growing public interest, the Chinese government has come under pressure: in a historical decision in 2007, it extended to private property the same protection that applies to state or collective property. For the first time, legislation was thus enacted to protect homeowners from expropriation without compensation.(5) The State Council of the People’s Republic of China first began considering a change in the right of ownership in the nineteennineties, and great hopes are now placed on its implementation. (6)
Stefanie Gommel
(1) A German architecture journal dedicated an entire issue to the subject: “Chinesischer Hochgeschwindigkeitsurbanismus”. Archplus, 168 (February 1, 2004). See also Totalstadt. Beijing Case: High-Speed Urbanisierung in China, ed. Gregor Jansen, exh. cat. ZKM / Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe (Cologne, 2006).
(2) See Christian Renfer, “Chinas gefährdetes Bauerbe: Tabula rasa oder Rückbesinnung?” Neue Zürcher Zeitung (August 16, 2013).
(3) See Rem Koolhaas, “Die Stadt ohne Eigenschaften,” Archplus 132 (June 1996).
(4) Louisa Lim, “Shanghai Urban Dev elopment: The Future Is Now,” NPR (December 11, 2006).
(5) The new provisions only apply to priv ate property and not to rented or leased buildings or properties. Land ownership continues to be excluded; land and property are still under state control.
(6) In its annual report of 2013, Amnesty International makes reference to continuing unlawful, forced evictions in China without commensurate financ ial compensation.
Athens Diary
Peter Bialobrzeski spent ten days in Athens in spring 2015, at the height of the Greek crisis. His photographic exploration of the urban landscape, Athens Diary, opens up a dialogue with the themes overrepresented in the media – Syntagma Square, weary Syriza politicians, pensioners facing unyielding cash machines. Beyond any empty pathos, the artist captures laconic images, both of neglect and of hope.
Nail Houses stick out like nails in a piece of hardwood that can either be pulled out or hammered in. Like isolated bastions, they hold out against the many real estate and infrastructure projects of public authorities and developers.
In everyday speech in China, such buildings whose owners refuse to move out of their homes and into new housing are called “dıˉngzihù” protest in an era of high-speed urbanization.(1) White chalk symbols announce chai (demolition) in many places in China. Not only traditional houses fall victim to this wave of modernization. Entire historic city districts and with them a rich past and culture are also forced to give way to new urban centers lacking any historical context: “Until what is old is gone, new things cannot come,” says a Chinese proverb. In the realization of building projects, Mao’s credo “no construction without destruction” still seems to apply, since existing guidelines for the protection of historic buildings and monuments are often ignored in practice. The loss of buildings is immense; the loss of cultural heritage significant.(2) In the past two decades, undesired residents have frequently been evicted and forcibly resettled, not infrequently by use of force.
In the midst of demolition and new construction are “generic cities” (3) emerging that are void of any Chinese identity? Considering the pragmatic spirit and openness towards reform shared by his countrymen, architect Ma Quingyun does not consider this as a concern. “That’s true Chineseness,” Ma says. “Everything is in constant mutation, nothing is set as a fixity. We don’t follow any spatial models. We don’t care about the look of the building so much, so everybody still lives in Shanghai in ugly buildings. We care about how convenient life is.” (4) However, more and more homeowners are trying to slow the momentum of growth and are fighting for their familiar dwellings or for reasonable compensation for the loss of their homes. As a result of the growing public interest, the Chinese government has come under pressure: in a historical decision in 2007, it extended to private property the same protection that applies to state or collective property. For the first time, legislation was thus enacted to protect homeowners from expropriation without compensation.(5) The State Council of the People’s Republic of China first began considering a change in the right of ownership in the nineteennineties, and great hopes are now placed on its implementation. (6)
Stefanie Gommel
(1) A German architecture journal dedicated an entire issue to the subject: “Chinesischer Hochgeschwindigkeitsurbanismus”. Archplus, 168 (February 1, 2004). See also Totalstadt. Beijing Case: High-Speed Urbanisierung in China, ed. Gregor Jansen, exh. cat. ZKM / Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe (Cologne, 2006).
(2) See Christian Renfer, “Chinas gefährdetes Bauerbe: Tabula rasa oder Rückbesinnung?” Neue Zürcher Zeitung (August 16, 2013).
(3) See Rem Koolhaas, “Die Stadt ohne Eigenschaften,” Archplus 132 (June 1996).
(4) Louisa Lim, “Shanghai Urban Dev elopment: The Future Is Now,” NPR (December 11, 2006).
(5) The new provisions only apply to priv ate property and not to rented or leased buildings or properties. Land ownership continues to be excluded; land and property are still under state control.
(6) In its annual report of 2013, Amnesty International makes reference to continuing unlawful, forced evictions in China without commensurate financ ial compensation.
Athens Diary
Peter Bialobrzeski spent ten days in Athens in spring 2015, at the height of the Greek crisis. His photographic exploration of the urban landscape, Athens Diary, opens up a dialogue with the themes overrepresented in the media – Syntagma Square, weary Syriza politicians, pensioners facing unyielding cash machines. Beyond any empty pathos, the artist captures laconic images, both of neglect and of hope.
Opening :
Saturday , January 23rd , 2016, from 11 am to 6 pm. The artist will be present.
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