F.F.A.L. #5 F.F.A.L. #5, Detail F.F.A.L. #5, installationview

In Fake Female Artist Life #5 the artist lends her looks and voice to the fictitious character of Madonna, who, in Wei Hui’s controversial novel Shanghai Baby (New York, 2001), is a former prostitute who wanted to be an artist when she was young. Until 2003 Shanghai Baby was forbidden in China by the Communist Party because of its explicit sexual scenes. Text fragments from the Chinese original are spoken by the artist.

This work has been shown at
Any Day Now, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, 2011
Any Day Now, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, 2010
Lügen.nirgends – Zwischen Fiktion und Dokumentation, Ausstellungshalle für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Münster, 2008
Shanghai Biennial, Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, 2006

Text which is spoken by the dummy
F.F.A.L # 5 (Madonna)
…I wanted to be an artist from early age on. Later I took artists as lovers…
…When I remember scenes from my life, it really seems like a previous incarnation. A simple title captures it: “Beauty and the beast.” And I did master the principles of how to domesticate a man. Maybe when I get old I’ll write a book just for women, teaching them how to interpret a man’s mind and understand his worst habits. To kill a snake, you have to strike it below the head but above the belly. Men also have pressure points where they’re vulnerable. Young women nowadays my mature earlier, and they’re tougher and braver than we were, but women still get the short end of the stick in many ways…
…When you get down to it, the social system still devalues the needs of women and doesn’t support their efforts to recognize their self-worth…
…Girls who are street-smart are put down as crude, and those who are gentler are treated like empty-headed flower vessels…
…Anyway, girls need to improve their minds. Being a bit smarter doesn’t hurt. What do you think of my figure, still attractive? Well?…
…I adore myself. The older and more tired I get, the more I adore myself…
…I’ve got a lot of money, but I am ugly, aren’t I?…

Sources
Wei Hui, Shanghai Baby, New York, 2001