Subcultures
2014

31 Aug - 26 Oct 2014

Subcultures

Matthew Niederhauser

Sound Kapital: Beijing's Music Underground

A growing number of musicians in Beijing move outside the censored media channels. They provide a fresh, independent voice in a country that is known for its creative conformism and saccharine Cantonese pop. With their unique sound these musicians aggressively expose the dichotomy between the old socialist ideals and the temptations of the free market, and with it, the split in the moral and social basis of modern China. According to the photographer Matthew Niederhauser, who documented this underground scene, there is no doubt that these musicians will expand their awakening, and already spreading subculture of independent thinking and free musical expression.

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Metropolis
2011

11 Sep - 9 Oct 2011

Metropolis

Matthew Niederhauser

COUNTERFEIT PARADISES (China, 2011)

Thanks to China's spectacular economic growth, which translated into a larger, better off middle class, international tourism by Chinese has grown sharply. Ever more Chinese travel to other countries, where they spend more money. An alternative is the Windows on the World park in Shenzhen, where replicas of famous bits of foreign countries have been recreated. Here the Chinese can whet their appetite for seeing the real thing. But, Matthew Niederhauser warns, this is also a form of indoctrination, focused on consumption – a process that will prove just as empty as previous social movements in China.

• COUNTERFEIT PARADISES (China, 2011)

  

• COUNTERFEIT PARADISES (China, 2011)

  

• COUNTERFEIT PARADISES (China, 2011)

  

The Pursuit of Happiness
2009

6 Sep - 4 Oct 2009

The Pursuit of Happiness

Matthew Niederhauser

SOUND KAPITAL - BEJING’S MUSIC UNDERGROUND (2007)

Hedgehog, one of the bands that’s part of the explosion of a new Chinese music scene, gets ready for a performance.

• SOUND KAPITAL - BEJING’S MUSIC UNDERGROUND (2007)

  Hedgehog, one of the bands that’s part of the explosion of a new Chinese music scene, gets ready for a performance.