Fiber Glass Creations - Response to the Shanghai Sculpture Space

Within the artistic space of Red Town is a field of sculptures, including a car made of bricks, distorted figurines of people, and several monuments in the form of a human leg. Towards the left of this field is a large building that used to be the former location of No.10 Steel Plant of Shanghai Steel Company. However, today, it is the location of the Shanghai Sculpture Space. Within the white walls, the museum carries a large variety of sculptures from the sleek and modern to the stylistically ancient. Other than plaques dotting the walls, there is nothing to distract the visitors from the artwork. Thus, curious visitors flock to this unique area to absorb the ideas communicated by these Chinese artists. One in particular that caught my eye was titled “The Green Arrow” made by Jiao Xingtao. This sculpture, made of fiber glass, is a blown up model of a Wrigley’s Doublemint chewing gum wrapper crushed into a ball. This piece would most likely be classified as a pop art sculpture and appropriately reflects the commercialism of the current time period. The stunning detail of the sculpture with its proportions and crinkles makes the sculpture fun, especially the little green arrow that would have been overlooked if not for the title. Another interesting sculpture is “Unforgetful Landscape” by Tang Yong. Made from fiber glass again, this piece consists of two people, one man and one woman, sitting with their arms folded in a way that creates a flat surface for a smaller girl and boy set of figurines. The children, seemingly a representation of the adults’ younger selves represent memories and the past. I enjoyed this sculpture mainly because of the message it carried about how memories are always carried with us. The style of the figures reflects this sweet sentiment well.