Contemporaneous - Ink Animation at the Chinese Arts Centre until 15th June

Chen Shaoxiong and Qiu Anxiong create ink animations exploring their individual experiences and concerns living in this frenetic exhilarating moment in China's history.

Steeped in a history of over a thousand years, Chinese ink painting is one of the most traditional art forms and is still widely practised in China to this day.

Chen and Qiu work experimentally with the methods and aesthetics of this ancient tradition to create animations and paintings which reveal a sense of the urban experience in China today.

Contemporaneous will feature new ink paintings by both artists including works from Chen Shaoxiong's Collective Memory series of fingerprint ink paintings. Photographs of significant buildings such as the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Tiananmen Square or imposing Beijing city skyscrapers are rastered, with the pixels enlarged and transposed onto paper. The painting is then created in an action involving thousands of people invited to create a dot from their finger dipped in ink, each fingerprint representing an individual memory related to architecture.

The exhibition is programmed as part of Asia Triennial Manchester. This is the UK's first Asian Art Triennial, ATM08 opens 5 April - 1 June 2008 and will show fresh, innovative work that represents the best of contemporary visual art from Asia. A festival of visual culture that not only celebrates Manchester’s diverse communities but also explores cultural, artistic and political debates.

Contemporaneous also forms part of CHINA NOW the UK's largest ever festival of Chinese culture. Featuring over 800 events across the UK, CHINA NOW is a celebration of vibrant, modern 21st century China.