21 Ke (21 Grams)
2010 - Film & Video (Film & Video)
Sun Xun
Sun’s animated film 21 Ke (21 Grams) is based on the 1907 research by the American physician Dr. Duncan MacDougall who claimed the measured weight of the human soul to be twenty-one grams. Sun used this episode—which was not fully recognized by the scientific community—as a point of departure for his depiction of a dystopian world in which the narration of history and notion of time are interrupted. Because each frame was drawn by hand with crayon, it took Sun and his animation studio team a few years to complete this thirty-minute film of a surreal journey through mysterious cities, plagues of mosquitoes, broken statues, cawing ravens, waving flags, and flooded graveyards. Here, an ever-present man in a top hat makes obscure, cryptic references in scenarios that include the national anthem, factories belching soot into the threatening sky, and soaring planes dropping leaflets to earth. Rather than encouraging specific interpretations, 21 Ke is a visual commentary that asks essential questions of human existence: Who we are? What have we done? Where are we heading?
Sun Xun creates videos and animation films from his meticulous, highly detailed, and often monochromatic, hand drawings executed in ink, oil, and crayon. Drawing on the ideas of thinkers like Karl Marx, Theodor Adorno, and Max Horkheimer, Sun investigates revolution, existence, mythologies of society, the notion of time, and the construction and narration of history. Often in a style of magical realism, Sun’s works are full of metaphors and indirect visual associations that beg to be deciphered.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » LONDONIST
The National Portrait Gallery's Pavilion Cafe | Londonist That Kiosk Outside The National Portrait Gallery Is About To Reopen As A Cafe By Will Noble Will Noble That Kiosk Outside The National Portrait Gallery Is About To Reopen As A Cafe The former ticket booth opens as a cafe on 1 November 2023...
© » KADIST
Catherine Opie
1994Although best known as a provocateur and portraitist, Opie also photographs landscapes, cityscapes, and architecture...
© » ART & OBJECT
Famed Studio of Gaugin and Modigliani to Be Restored| Art & Object Skip to main content Subscribe to our free e-letter! Webform Your Email Address Role Art Collector/Enthusiast Artist Art World Professional Academic Country USA Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Ascension Island Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canary Islands Cape Verde Caribbean Netherlands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Ceuta & Melilla Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo - Brazzaville Congo - Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard & McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao SAR China Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Outlying Oceania Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka St...
© » SLASH PARIS
Laura Lamiel — Ursule — Marcelle Alix Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Laura Lamiel — Ursule — Marcelle Alix Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Laura Lamiel — Ursule Exhibition Installation, sculpture Laura Lamiel, Ursule (2), 2023 — Vue de l’exposition Ursule, 2023...
© » KADIST
Shimon Minamikawa
2014In Play , the image comes from a fashion magazine from the 1950’s (USA) whose theme is costume sportswear from the 19th century...
© » KADIST
Kelley Walker
2004The triptych Black Star Press is part of the series ‘The Black Star Press project’ initiated in 2004 by the American artist Kelley Walker...
© » KADIST
Ayoung Kim
2019In 2019, Ayoung Kim traveled to Mongolia to research its widespread animistic belief system towards land, mother rock, stones, and sacred caves that purify human guilt...
© » KADIST
Tobias Fike & Matthew Harris
2013Facing one another, each projection screen of the work Food Fight respectively features Tobias Fike and Matthew Harris preparing multi-course meals at a kitchen counter...
