Letter from Beijing: Riding in a biscuit tin beats hypothermia

By JOSEPHINE DO*

Hi everyone. I've got to confess I have not spent enough time thinking about my art during the three-week stay at the Jiangmen Factory on a work-study project. Instead my thoughts have been focused on the Red Gate/Beijing Academy of Fine Arts residency.

I arrived in Beijing on February 25 and met Red Gate Gallery director Brian Wallace at the airport. After a 30-minute taxi-ride we arrived at my apartment on Tuanjiehu Rd. My studio is just around the corner. I've been here just over two weeks and am still learning so many new things.

But with each passing day I am feeling better and settling in slowly. I had been a little concerned about potential problems of not being able to speak Mandarin, and, of course, I can't go too far without the language. But the delightful Brian Wallace was able to get me a collection of maps with highlighted spots.

I feel sure that without his help, I might have used a lot of time on the streets going nowhere. These maps help me to have some thoughts on developing a series of art based on the theme China Travel Kit, reinventing the signs and zones of Beijing City.

Getting around Beijing is never easy - especially when it is freezing outside and walking can be tiring. Buses are overcrowded and the subway can't always get you to where you want to go.

If you want to get across town without risking hypothermia you have to hail one of Beijing's finest in public transportation ... the taxi.

My favourite taxi is the common man's 1.2RMB, which is like a biscuit tin in appearance, noise and stature.

One of the things I've done this week is visit the Beijing Central Academy of Fine Arts for educational exchanges, accompanied by Hester Chan, director of the Netherlands Art Gallery.

We had a tremendous day, spending the afternoon in the school touring studios, workshops, computer labs, and communicating with students and professors.

After the hard work, I returned home. The TV is filled with Olympic Games images and news related to Microsoft's millions of dollars of investment in China.

I believe in the near future the computer will be the most wanted consumer product in China; therefore I am also interested to record this move in my creative making.

Obviously, the daily life and environmental changes in China will have a great impact on my future art works.

I am very glad to have the chance to experience this residency. But until now it has been difficult because of the language barrier.

As for lessons learned about living in China, I must get some books on learning Chinese for beginners. So tomorrow Ping, a local friend, and I will go to a big shopping centre called the Oriental Plaza to check out "Foreigner" and Chinese bookstores.

* After a work-study project at Jiangmen Factory in China, Josephine Do is on an arts residency in Beijing. Here, she sends an update of how daily life in China is affecting her art - work we will see in Auckland this year.