Fuck Off (art Exhibition) - Co-Curators

Co-Curators

Description by Ai Weiwei and Feng Boyi in October, 2000:

“’Fuck Off’ is an event that is participated by both the organizers and artists. In today’s art, the alternative is playing the role of revising and criticizing the power discourse and mass convention. In an uncooperative and uncompromisable way, it self-consciously resists the threat of assimilation and vulgarization. A cultural attitude that stands against the power and makes no compromise with vulgarization is, together with independent individual experiences, feelings and creations, is what extends the pursuit and desire of art for spiritual freedom – an everlasting theme. Such a cultural attitude is obviously exclusive and alienated. It aims at dealing with such themes as cultural power, art institution, art trends, communications between the East and West, exoticism, post-modernism and post colonialism, etc. ‘Fuck Off’ emphasizes the independent and critical stance that is basic to art existence, and its status of independence, freedom and plurality in the situation of contradictions and conflicts. It tries to provoke artist’s responsibility and self-discipline, search for the way in which art lives as “wildlife”, and raise questions about some issues of contemporary Chinese art. Allegory, directing questioning, resistance, alienation, dissolution, endurance, boredom, bias, absurdity, cynicism and self-entertainment are aspects of culture as well as features of existence. Such issues are re-presented here by the artists with unprecedented frankness and intelligence, which leaves behind fresh and stimulating information and traces of existence. In this exhibition, participants and their works are not objects of choice, identification and judgment. They have no quest for any kind of excuse. Group identification and inner difference are both so fully respected and encouraged that it may be doubted if there is the necessity for the presence of audience. An on-site ambiguity and uncertainty forces one to seek meaning and satisfaction only in the form of proliferation and postpone. Perhaps there is nothing that exists ‘on-site’, but what will last forever is the very uncooperativeness with any system of power discourse.”