Shi Jinsong's Metallic Motorcycles 
s one of the first group of participating artists at the Shanghai Biennial, Shi Jinsong is busy preparing his artworks for the exhibition: container-like melon sheds and motorcycles with the brand name “Ha Ke Long.” At Shi’s studio in suburban Beijing, several completed Hake Dragon motorcycles are piled up, shining in metallic rays.
The name, “Ha Ke Long” was invented by Shi. He created a humorous logo just like Harley Davidson’s. The pronunciation of “Ha Ke Long” has an origin in his hometown dialect – the Hubei dialect. The logo is a combination with the spelling “halong-kellong” and “tuolaji” (which means walking tractor in Chinese). He produced a mixture of Harley Davidson motorcycles and walking tractors. Shi says he wanted to "express my idea with something familiar to people is more interesting.”
Shi Jinsong’s artworks include those “Ha Ke Long” motorcycles, baby-care things -- like metallic baby strollers for a deity named he calls “Na Zha”-- and refined ancient weapons, constantly appear at international exhibitions. A curator, Gu Zhenqing, said: “Shi Jinsong’s artwork is attractive. Everyone can understand his works, but if you think deeper, and then you will feel that the artist is refusing. It is very interesting.”
Shi Jinsong’s installations now have the attention of art critics and collectors. In 2006, Chambers Fine Art Gallery in New York presented his solo exhibition entitled, “Na Zha – Baby Care.” All the works in the show were booked by collectors. Xu Longsen, Director of the Do Hai Tang Gallery in Shanghai, has privately collected one work from the Na Zha Series. It was said that all Shi Jinsong’s installation works were collected, and the prices have reached over $10,000.
Shi Jinsong has good ability of applying at materials. In his artworks “Sweet Life” and “Na Zha”, he applies different materials such as barley, sugar and stainless steel. In the “Ha Ke Long Motorcycle” series, the bodywork was made from a black and thick trunk, and the weird motorcycle can even be driven. All the accessories shine with the feel of a bright cold metal and were integrated as different parts of the motorcycle.
“I dreamt that a trunk with a big light was running on the road.” Shi Jinsong said in an interview. The work has already appeared at the Today Art Museum in Beijing. Now, Shi Jinsong is going to unveil the Ha Ke Long motorcycle at the Shanghai Biennial. He is planning to put three container-like melon sheds in the open air near Shanghai Art Museum, and also three “Ha Ke Long” motorcycles, carved with symbols of the dragon and phoenix. They will be able to be driven around the museum. The motorcycles will feature karaoke and video instruments. And the driver will be some muscular man dressed like Arnold Schwartzenegger. Different from the other Ha Ke Long motorcycles before, these three will play the new edition of “The Great Compassion Mantra,” Shi Jinsong has this Buddhism music re-composed to sound like a metal dance, and “Ha Ke Long, Ha Ke Long” are repeated as the new mantra in the song.
“I create works to dissect the real-life of society, and what I am interested in was to make an analysis of man’s pathology.”
Translated by Wei Ying
Shi Jinsong's Metallic Motorcycles | ArtZineChina.com | 中国艺志