ABSTRACT
In the section “The road less travelled – Ullens Foundation for Chinese Contemporary Art”, the venue in Beijing, China, is introduced. With the help of media analysis, it describes the different perceptions of Indian Highway and draws attention to the perceived notion of “ghettoification” in Chinese contemporary art that implies non-existent local art infrastructure as alternatives to the West, but also exposes non-existent linkages between art communities in India and in China. On this background, the second section describes a censorship incident of the work I love my India by artist Tejal Shah, which marked a significant change in the discourse around the exhibition. With the question why Indian officials perceived the video as objectionable, which stands in contrast with the European organisers’ aim to initiate a dialogue between Indian and Chinese artistic practices, the last section engages with an analysis along the term of cultural intimacy (Herzfeld).
