Uncooperative Approach (Fuck Off)

In today’s art, the “alternative” is playing the role of revising and criticizing the power discourse and mass convention. In an uncooperative and uncompromisable way, it self-consciously resists the threat of assimilation and vulgarization. A cultural attitude that stands against the power and makes no compromise with vulgarization is, together with independent individual experiences, feelings and creations, is what extends the pursuit and desire of art for spiritual freedom – an everlasting theme. Such a cultural attitude is obviously exclusive and alienated. It aims at dealing with such themes as cultural power, art institution, art trends, communications between the East and West, exoticism, post-modernism and post-colonialism, etc. “Fuck Off” emphasizes the independent and critical stance that is basic to art existence, and its status of independence, freedom and plurality in the situation of contradictions and conflicts. It tries to provoke artist’s responsibility and self-discipline, search for the way in which art lives as “wildlife”, and raise questions about some issues of contemporary art. Allegory, direct questioning, resistance, alienation, dissolution, endurance, boredom, bias, absurdity, cynicism, and self-entertainment are aspects of cultur as well as features of existence. Such issues are represented here by the artists with unprecedented frankness and intelligence, which leaves behind fresh and stimulating information and traces of existence.’ – Ai Weiwei and Feng Boyi (Curators).