The first man who bought a juicer bought it not for drinking juice

About

Following its European premier and major exhibition at Iniva (Institute for International Visual Arts) London in early 2010, Fountain in partnership with CIRCA Contemporary Art Projects is proud to present 'The first man who bought a juicer bought it not for drinking juice' at Stephenson Works Newcastle upon Tyne as part of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere: A programme of international moving image. Part of a European-wide tour of the work curated and produced by Fountain working with Serpentine Gallery and ShanghART Gallery, China.

Lu Chunsheng's films are not linked to specific places but rather to events. In The first man who bought a juicer bought it not for drinking juice, the two events that gave impetus for this, his most ambitious film to date, may seem disconnected, yet, were ever present in the artists mind during its production. Filmed entirely on-location in San Antonio, Texas, The first man who bought a juicer bought it not for drinking juice, began with Lu Chunsheng's interest in Orson Welles' 1938 adaption for radio of H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, a fictional account of an alien invasion which when broadcast was mistaken for a real news item, and with the story of the exile of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in 1897 to eastern Siberia, a major agricultural region within Russia.

Although Lu Chunsheng's past works in film and photography appear preoccupied with the industrial era and communist history, his narratives are closer to surrealism than socialism. In the process of making his films and in this his most recently completed; The first man who bought a juicer bought it not for drinking juice, Lu Chunsheng has developed a formal filmic language using a form that alludes to mainstream cinematic narrative but often abandons it.

Lu Chunsheng was born in Changchun, China. The artist has also had solo exhibitions at The Red Mansion Foundation, London, England (2008); Paradise Theatre, BizArt Art Center, Shanghai, China (2006); and Platform China Contemporary Art Institute, The Central Academy of Arts, Beijing, China (2006). His work has been included in many group exhibitions, including Lu Chunsheng and Jia Aili: Counterpoints, Iniva, London (2010); 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2008); The 10th International Istanbul Biennial, Turkey (2007); The 27th São Paulo Biennial, Brazil (2006); Masculinities, NBK, Berlin, Germany (2005); Le Moine et le demon, Lyon Contemporary Art Museum, France (2004); and China Now, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (2004).

His work was also exhibited in the Serpentine Gallery's ground-breaking exhibition of contemporary Chinese art, architecture and sound China Power Station: Part 1, which was co-produced by The Red Mansion Foundation in collaboration with Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.

The first man who bought a juicer bought it not for drinking juice was produced during a residency at Artpace (San Antonio, USA), organised by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist. The film is commissioned and produced by Artpace San Antonio and supported by ShanghART Gallery, China.