Rebuilding Relationships: A Case Analysis of Artistic Intervention in Rural China

In 2013, Chinese contemporary artist Li Mu collaborated with villagers in Qiuzhuang, his hometown in Feng County, Jiangsu Province, China, to recreate and exhibit modern and contemporary artworks from the Van Abbemuseum in the Netherlands. This study takes the “Qiuzhuang Project” as a case study to explore the practice of artistic intervention in rural China. It analyzes the relationships and meanings generated among the artist himself, the villagers, and the interactions between the artworks and the environment, aiming to investigate the significance that emerges among different participants, the artworks, and the environment through the medium of art.

Grounded in theories of participatory aesthetics and relational aesthetics, this paper employs Kaija Kaitavuori’s model of four types of participation to analyze the relationships and social implications that arose during the collaborative creative process between the artist and the villagers. The research primarily adopts qualitative methods, conducting textual analysis on four video works , filmed by the artist during the project, the Qiuzhuang Project diaries published on the artist’s personal website, and relevant media materials.

The study finds that Li Mu controlled the entire participatory process of the production and exhibition of the artworks in the Qiuzhuang Project, with villagers assuming a passive collaborator role. For the villagers more meaning was derived from the interactive processes among the artist, the artworks, and the outsiders attracted by the art activities. For Li Mu, although the project originated from his forceful insertion of foreign contemporary artworks into the Chinese rural environment—creating a strong conflict and opposition between the works and the local setting—this process allowed him to re-explore his hometown and rebuild his relationship with the villagers through the medium of art.