Xu Bing: Phoenix

Xu Bing: Phoenix

18 mins | Documentary | Jan. 1, 2013

Drawing inspiration from the contemporary realities of his fast-changing country, Chinese artist Xu Bing spent two years creating his newest work, Phoenix. The installation features two monumental birds fabricated entirely from materials harvested from construction sites in urban China, including demolition debris, steel beams, tools, and remnants of the daily lives of migrant laborers. At once fierce and strangely beautiful, the mythic Phoenixes bear witness to the complex interconnection between labor, history, commercial development, and the rapid accumulation of wealth in today's China. The film Xu Bing: Phoenix documents the process of creating the work through to its installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASSMoCA).

Xu Bing: Phoenix

18 mins | Documentary | Jan. 1, 2013

Xu Bing: Phoenix
Drawing inspiration from the contemporary realities of his fast-changing country, Chinese artist Xu Bing spent two years creating his newest work, Phoenix. The installation features two monumental birds fabricated entirely from materials harvested from construction sites in urban China, including demolition debris, steel beams, tools, and remnants of the daily lives of migrant laborers. At once fierce and strangely beautiful, the mythic Phoenixes bear witness to the complex interconnection between labor, history, commercial development, and the rapid accumulation of wealth in today's China. The film Xu Bing: Phoenix documents the process of creating the work through to its installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASSMoCA).
Producers
Original title Xu Bing: Phoenix
Directors Daniel Traub
Writers Daniel Traub

Cast

Xu Bing

as Himself