Modern art in Zhengzhou

I am not a huge fan of modern art, as I mostly don't understand it. But, here was a brand new display in a brand new building in Zhengzhou, so let's go explore.

The display was in the twin of the above building. Interestingly, both buildings were not yet open to the public, as they weren't yet complete. There was construction detritus all over the floors, and only freight elevators were working. But they had displays at roughly nine-floor intervals (corresponding to the levels with the notches in the above picture--which are accessible outdoor patios, which I presume will have guardrails installed once open to the public). But maybe not--in China, you are expected to look after yourself to a large extent, and third-party liability is extremely limited.

 I'm not sure if the dirt and the pail are part of the exhibit or not. I'm leaning towards yes. I think it is meant as a reminder that all modern construction sites may potentially encounter cultural relics of the past. It is not uncommon to see construction workers wandering the streets near their workplace trying to hawk old pieces of porcelain or bronze.

 A couple of young women try their luck with the auto-decapitator.

Inside--a cityscape maybe?

Some exhibits moved. The motion of some was tied to motion detectors.

Chinese herbal medicine products on woofers, which would hum (vibrating the herbs) every so often.

I have no explanation for this.

A self-portrait. I don't know if the smashed mirror was part of the display or not.

 Viewers reacted favourably to the saliva-collection experiment.

My favourite was the liquid-metal pterodactyl. It flapped its wings to the chiming of a bell, but was hooked up to a motion detector which switched it off when anyone looked at it too closely.

My favourite display consisted of a couple of screens comparing China in the 1970s to the China of today. One screen showed typical scenes from modern-day China, while the other showed scenes from the early 1970s. Both showed analogous activities--for instance while you watched Chinese people exercising in their machine-equipped public parks in the present, you also saw old men in Mao suits practicing tai chi in the park.

Possibly art. Or maybe spilled insulation.