zero focus

“June 1989, Beijing”

This video features Xing Zhibin, the famous newscaster who was then the face of state-run television in China, in a news studio setting. She reads the lengthy definition for ‘water’ from a Chinese dictionary in a neutral and monotonous tone, metaphorically flooding the viewer with a sea of meaningless words. The notions of boredom and control serve as a contrast to the function and format of the official Chinese news. Xing is the newscaster who broadcasted many government announcements during the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident, and as such her performance serves as a social critique. As the first video artist in China, Zhang developed a body of video and performance work beginning from the late 1980s.

代表中國媒體形象的中央電視台前新聞播報員邢質斌，在新聞播報室的背景裡，以標準平穩的語調讀出《辭海》中「水」這個字的全部解釋，把觀眾淹沒在毫無意義 的詞句當中。其沈悶刻板的姿態，與中央電視新聞的功能與形式構成強烈對比。邢質斌在1989年「天安門事件」期間，報道過不少官方新聞。她在錄像裡的報道 方式，卻顯示出其荒謬性。作為中國首位錄像藝術家，張培力自80年代末便開始創作出一系列錄像及表演作品。

A group of students acts out scenes imitating government officials in front of the crowd. A girl from the school of drama mimes the suffering of the Chinese people.