·Sui Jianguo·Beijing

《Made in China》
Embroidered Cloth flag
Installation
Yan'an Kangda Hotel 6th Floor Meeting Room
May 20 - 23, 2006

The artist created a Long March flag with the four Chinese characters “zhong guo zhi zao” (made in China) embroidered by hand. “Made in China” can often be seen on the labels of exported products, conveying a sense of national identity. ?With the development of Chinese economy and its rise in international status, a perception that China will threaten the world has continually been espoused in several Western countries.? Through the extension of the slogan “Depend on Yourself and You Will Have Ample Clothes and Food” popular during the revolutionary period, the artist expresses his view on world politics and economy structure in the 21st Century from the perspective of an independent country and nation.

Long March is made in China,
Yan’an spirit is made in China,
.‘Made in China’ is even more made in China.

---Sui Jianguo

《Untitled》
Installation
Yan'an University Cave Dwellings
May 2006 ongoing

Within the 6th cave dwelling of the 5th row at the historical Yan’an University site is a hole, whose purpose,creator, or date of creation is unknown. Within this hole, Sui Jianguo planted a coniferous tree, and asked local residents to maintain and water the tree until it was cut down or replanted when the cave dwelling was renovated one day in the future.
As a participant in the “Yan’an Forum on Arts Education,” Sui Jianguo used this work to engage with the discussion of art education by borrowing upon the Chinese proverb, “It takes 10 Years to Cultivate a Tree and 100 Years to Cultivate an Excellent Person”, revisiting the history of Yan’an University. Through a displacement of the relationship between “inside” and “outside”, the work examined the mutually inflecting negotiation between history, geography, and human volition.