Let Them Eat Cake
Collection:UAL Art Collection
Date: 2019
Artist: Yuxuan Xue (Chinese)
Dimensions:
12:49
Medium: Digital film
Object number: UAC 993
See Also
DescriptionYuxuan studied MA Photography at London College of Communication. She says:
'This work is based on my hometown, Dongying, a fourth-tier city, the largest oil-refinery city and the second largest oil field in China. In the 1960s, the government discovered a large number of oil resources in Dongying. They recruited workers from all over China to support exploitation and development of oil. After 3 decades, with the gradual depletion of oil resources in this land, Shengli Oil Field has entered a cold winter. While the natural resources are constantly destroyed, a large number of workers are laid off.
This work does not want to solidify the Western impression of China, nor to cater to the imagination of Orientalism in the western context. Poverty, corruption, pollution, and class exists in every country. I grew up in a place where there are many problems and contradictions. Through images, I reflect on the background of my growth, and find my meaning for this land and this land’s meaning for me. I have a personal relationship with
the interviewees, we talk in an emotionally safe environment, therefore this work is not an objective expression, it's just the "facts" screened out from my perspective.'
'This work is based on my hometown, Dongying, a fourth-tier city, the largest oil-refinery city and the second largest oil field in China. In the 1960s, the government discovered a large number of oil resources in Dongying. They recruited workers from all over China to support exploitation and development of oil. After 3 decades, with the gradual depletion of oil resources in this land, Shengli Oil Field has entered a cold winter. While the natural resources are constantly destroyed, a large number of workers are laid off.
This work does not want to solidify the Western impression of China, nor to cater to the imagination of Orientalism in the western context. Poverty, corruption, pollution, and class exists in every country. I grew up in a place where there are many problems and contradictions. Through images, I reflect on the background of my growth, and find my meaning for this land and this land’s meaning for me. I have a personal relationship with
the interviewees, we talk in an emotionally safe environment, therefore this work is not an objective expression, it's just the "facts" screened out from my perspective.'