Wang Wei, 1/30th of a Second Underwater
8 photograph transparencies (122 cm x 122 cm each), CD sound (4 minute loop)
Edition 3 of 5 + 1 AP, 1999
Created for the landmark "Post-sense Sensibility" exhibition in 1999, Wang
Wei's "1/30th of a Second Underwater" has become an iconic work of contemporary
Chinese art, shown and collected by museums worldwide. Visitors walk upon
lightboxes containing photographs with the faces of the artist and his friends,
who appear to be trapped below the surface, as speakers emit subtle underwater
sounds. The title refers to the shutter speed of the camera used to take
the photograph. Three of the other examples are in museum collections (Smart
Museum of Art, University of Chicago; Museum of Fine Art, Houston; and promised
gift to the Art Gallery of Ontario).
A smaller size edition of 4 + 1 AP also exists (each photo 80 x 80 cm).
"1/30th of a Second Underwater": Exhibitions
1999-1 "Post Sense Sensibility-Bodies and Delusion" Beijing
1999-11 "Beijing in London" Institute of Contemporary Art, London
2001-12 "Exposure" Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago
2002-11 "The First Guangzhou Triennial" Guangdong Museum of Art , Guangzhou
2004-4 "China, The Body Everywhere" Museum of Contemporary Art, Marseille, France
2004-6 "Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China"
The exhibition traveled to the following venues between 2004-2007:
Smart Museum of Art and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA (2005)
International Center of Photography and The Asia Society, New York (2005)
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA (2005)
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK (2005)
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany (2006)
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, USA (2006)
Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA (2007)
Selected publications (click to view): The New York Times, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Nouvel Observateur
