Quotidian Truths
Paintings by Xia Xing

Exhibition : September 20 - November 1, 2008
Reception : Saturday, September 20 from 5 - 8 PM

Morono Kiang Gallery is proud to present the second installment of the Quotidian Truths series, featuring new works that recount the pain and pageantry of contemporary life as seen through the news media.

Xia Xing’s almost-daily ritual practice of painting front-page newspaper photographs from The Beijing News is a brilliant interrogation of the nature of collective memory and the complex manner by which information shapes knowledge. Consisting of more than four-dozen paintings, Xia’s annual painting series examines how seemingly random people, places, and events presented through the lens of a government sanctioned news outlet become the substance of history-in-the-making.
Xia Xing: 06.01.29
 Fireworks for the First Time in Ten Years

A girl in the Fangzhuang District spins ignited, handheld fireworks. The 2006 Spring Festival was Beijing’s first Spring Festival after the lifting of a ban on fireworks in the city. The sound of fireworks was heard inside the 5th Ring Road for the first time in ten years.

Xia Xing, 06.01.29, oil on canvas, 70 x 100 cm, 2007
06.12.22
 Results of Investigation of Major Accidents Made Public Today

The results of the 11 special investigations of major accidents have been announced. The director of The State Administration of Work Safety, Li Yizhong, criticized the local governments responsibility to control safety, and pointed out serious problems of corruption between officers and business men involved behind these incidents.

Xia Xing, 06.12.22, oil on canvas, 70 x 100 cm, 2007
06.12.28
 Hostages Taken on Bus Ride

A man, armed with knives and a nail gun, jumped on a public bus in Guiyang City and took hostage a female passenger. Snipers shot the suspect and took control of the situation as a female police officer entered the bus to negotiate the exchange of hostages. The suspect was suffering from intermittent mental illness.

Xia Xing, 06.12.28, oil on canvas, 70 x 100 cm, 2007