No. 31 - - Xu Wentao, 2008

Xu Wentao 徐文涛

Xu Wentao's work is based on the human body as a medium to articulate ethical issues - values and taboos such as freedom of opinion, the cloning technology and homosexuality. The manifestation of changes is a key theme for the artist. Changes are essential to today’s culture, economy and science. Xu Wentao questions and criticizes certain developments of contemporary social and human issues.

This series consists of two elements: people's bodies and water. The images of bodies are full of ambiguous sexual components of tension and desire. This description of sex and desire provokes the ethical order of a civilized society.

Furthermore the artist wants to express another conflict: in Xu Wentao’s work the optical refraction is a symbol for unexpected changes caused by the cloning technology. The cloning technology with its uncertainty and ambiguous relations has caused a big discussion about Chinese ethics.