'Beijing Map Games: Contemporary Art and Architecture in Beijing', at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK, 18 October 2008 - 4 January 2009

摘要

Birmingham's nineteenth-century Museum & Art Gallery hosted a groundbreaking exhibition of contemporary art and architecture entitled 'Beijing Map Games' in late 2008. This exhibition offered a number of 'cuts' through the contemporary city, considering how different aspects of city life have been conceptualized by a diverse range of artists in order to identify specific themes which appear to offer the basis for constructing urban accounts fit for contemporary times. The Beijing Map Games thus represented a forward-looking collection designed to suggest where urban representations may be heading - yet in doing so it also offered a critical reflection on where they have been.rnThere was some overlap between the works on display, most of which covered themes current in urban morphology. For instance, Ma Yansong explored some of the more challenging issues surrounding the changing role of Beijing, not least its role in addressing current environmental concerns. He advocated the installation of a green arterial line in the middle of the city, thus providing an escape from the city's stifling everyday life.