ARTnotes

CaoYang
 The Artist Project, A Contemporary Art Fair
Better Living Center
Exhibition Place

Ninety four artists' booths- hundreds upon hundreds of artworks, mostly middle of the road, if technically proficient, but   the quality overall has improved a lot since this annual bazaar   started seven years ago. There is now a juried selection, UNTAPPED Emerging Artists,  which showcases work by very young, very promising artists. Also the inclusion of an installation Rocco,  by Bruno Billio, at the front entrance added a great deal of panache to the show this year.

One artist who got   my attention is  Cao Yang, a graduate of OCADU. His images of a nude teenage girl, her eyes and the top of her head hidden  by a dense cottony cloud  disturbed me so I decided to investigate.  Cao  Yang explained his work derives from Buddhist philosophy, and that he employs a female model in order to explore his  feminine side. The nude depicted is waif-like and  white.  I was surprised  in talking with  Cao, who is  very open to discussing  his work, that  he seemed  oblivious to  issues around  the representation of women .

Cao Yang

That they are nude makes the thin creatures  even more vulnerable, but hiding  their eyes creates a very strong tension, emphasizes the physicality of her naked body. If I understood Cao, the cloud represents  Mind distracted by desires and emotions. Is he then embracing or repudiating his feminine side?  I'm still trying to decide if  his work bothers me  because  it's  sexist or because it's original. Maybe both. I felt more comfortable with the image of   a woman  with four arms tightly hugging  her body. She struggles within herself, is not as objectified, looks both fragile and strong.