March of the Elephants
Cheng Xinhao
Tabula Rasa, Beijing / London
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- 00:00
- Title
- March of the Elephants
- Gallery
- Tabula Rasa, Beijing / London
- Year
- 2022
- Duration
- 41 min 22 s
- Format & Technical
Single Channel, HD Video, Color, Sound
- LOOP Edition
- Ed. 2023
- Presented in LOOP by
- Tabula Rasa
- Courtesy of Cheng Xinhao and Tabula Rasa. The work is commissioned by Guangdong Times Museum.
“March of the Elephants” is a videowork that delves into the historical and cultural significance of elephants in the Lancang River basin. The video explores how these majestic creatures have been transformed into powerful symbols that transcend their physical presence.
Divided into three passages, each corresponding to a distinct era and discourse, the video unravels the complex layers of representation. It takes the audience through the elephants’ presence in Dai mythology and legends, their role during the period of socialist construction and the early 1970s, and their existence in the present.
Through the amalgamation of visual and sound materials from different time periods, the video reflects on the interplay between the elephants, historical contexts, and the symbolic discourses that have shaped their identity.
“March of the Elephants” is part of the series “Tales about the South of Clouds”, a long-term project that investigates Yunnan’s diverse cultures and oral literary traditions.
Stills
Cheng Xinhao
- Artist
1985
Cheng Xinhao (b.1985) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Kunming, China. Cheng’s works are usually based on long-term field studies, focusing on his hometown in Yunnan Province. With videos, installations, photographs and words, he personally investigates the polyphonic relationships between logic, discussions, knowledge, and the part that nature, society, and history play within them.
Selected institution exhibitions include River Pulses, Border Flows, Times Museum (Guangzhou, 2022); The Language of Mushrooms: The Interspecies Internet, Contemporary Gallery Kunming (Kunming, 2022); I Recognized the World: Born in the 80s and 90s, MOCA Yinchuan (Yinchuan, 2021); An Archive: Seven Trails, Taikang Space (Beijing, 2020); Air Waste Health Water Energy Soil, Gleis 70 (Zurich, 2021); Re: Everything which exists under the sky, Gasworks (London, 2019).
Cheng’s works are in the publication collection of Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen (Denmark), China Port Museum, Ningbo (China), and Contemporary Gallery.