The Art of Environmental Action

Artistic themes and media mix with calls for environmental action at the Shan Shui exhibit at the Beijing Center for Arts.

The art exhibit,which opened September 19,challenges visitors to think about the impact and interactions humans have on the environment.This is achieved through various pieces from world renowned artists.

Maya Lin,who at 21 designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,leaves her mark at the BCA with,'What is Missing?' a multimedia blend of images and sounds that bring attention to the many plants and animals that have left the earth forever.

Wang Jiangwei prefers to explore the relationship between humans and their environment through space.

'Wang Jiangwei,the designer of this art work, spent over a month collecting 600 pieces of furniture and constructed them into this tower that is over three stories tall.'

As visitors explore the BCA,they may also notice its twin buildings covered in ivy.

'And Zhou Wei is the last one. He has, using man-made green plants, wrapped the whole outer wall of the BCA space in one night. So you can make a comparison between these artificial ones with those real ones.'

For those that like their environmental messages in movie format, 'The 11th Hour'and'Home'spotlight global warming and the natural beauty of planet earth.

The exhibit is open every day except Monday until October 31.

'Art is a different kind of language.We want it to show the visual beauty of nature,the hurt we have done to nature and also show what we can do.So we want to show the whole society to show our citizens,to show our people,that we can do a lot for nature from an artist's point of view.'