Friday, May 14, 2010

DEEP DEEP CLEANING



  
Deep Deep Cleaning

The gusher of crude at the bottom of the sea continues to spew toxic black gold from the center of the earth. Man was able to start this disaster but can't seem to stop it. The environmental effects are overwhelming in practice and conceptually. They say we just don't know...




































It wasn't the Exxon Valdez captain's driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill. It was yours. ~Greenpeace advertisement, New York Times, 25 February 1990

Friday, May 7, 2010

REMOTE MERMAID by AI WEI WEI




Mermaid Exchange

Ai weiwei


As part of the “Mermaid Exchange” Ai Weiwei’s work “Remote” utilizes modern surveillance technique and the WWW to recreate the image of the missing icon on a LED-screen erected in the little Mermaids' original position in Langelinie/Denmark.


The video transmission is non-stop and in realtime for the full duration of this exhibition. The camera image can be seen at:

http://www.mermaidexchange.com/

Sunday, April 11, 2010

TAN ZUOREN



Activist Tan Zuoren, who had been investigating the deaths of schoolchildren in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, has been sentenced to five years in prison after being tried in August. From AP:



Attorney Pu Zhiqiang said activist Tan Zuoren was convicted of the charge Tuesday by the Chengdu Intermediate Court. Tan’s trial in August had concluded with no ruling, while police detained and threatened the man’s supporters.


Tan’s supporters say they believe the authorities were trying to silence him for his investigation into the collapse of schools in the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck in Sichuan province in May 2008, leaving almost 90,000 dead or missing. Tan estimated at least 5,600 students were among the dead.


The charge of inciting subversion of state power is believed linked to his quake investigation as well as essays he wrote about the 1989 student-led demonstrations in Tiananmen Square that ended in a deadly military crackdown. Beijing routinely uses such broad and vaguely defined accusations to imprison dissidents, sometimes for years.


Pu said Tan would appeal the court’s decision.

See also a Reuters report. ChinaGeeks has translated selected tweets about the verdict.
The BBC has posted a profile of Tan.
Read the Chinese text of “1989: Testifying to the Final Beauty,” written by Tan Zuoren. This text was used as criminal evidence against him by Chinese government.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

TRAVELOG..in progress

“When you’re travelling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road."
- William L.H. Moon