As part of Bund18's 10th anniversary celebration, 15 internationally acclaimed street artists have covered the pristine interior walls of the Bund-side spot with dots and squiggles. Their works, created over a one-month period, are being showcased at a group exhibition entitled Look Through! curated by Magda Danysz gallery.

Street art pioneers like Futura, international figures such as JonOne and Poesia, and emerging young artists such as Ludo, YZ and Seth arrived in phases and spent a week or so touring the city before laying down their art in the heritage building.

A participating street artist creates a piece on an interior wall of Bund18. Photos: Courtesy of the venue

American artist JonOne is known for drawing black lines spelling out his name repeatedly with a calligrapher's obsession. This time, however, he abandoned the airbrushes, instead sloshing a riot of color directly onto the wall and then moving it about with a brush. The artist's paint-spattered sneakers are on display in front of his work.

Growing up in the then-burgeoning New York street art scene, JonOne was surrounded by street slogans. He switched from using aerosol sprays on street walls to working with paint brushes on canvases. He has presented his works in other cities, including Paris and Hong Kong.

By using assorted materials such as charcoal, Sumi ink, latex paint and scraps of paper, San Franciscan artist Poesia installed a powerful site-specific installation which consists of a mural painting with LED lighting. He also put a turquoise bench in front of his work to invite viewers to sit down for a closer examination.

Details from the exhibition entitled Look Through! 

 

Glitzy skyline

For Poesia, walking through the city and allowing the landscape to influence his ideas is important. For his piece in Shanghai, the artist drew his inspiration from the glitzy skyline of the Bund, incorporating LED lighting in his work. He said that the "lights and the energy of the city, its tradition juxtaposed against the rising new construction" are what will leave an impression with him.

Upstairs, Parisian artist Ludo has created giant cyborg flowers that incorporate chains and engines to suggest the mechanization of plant life. Ludo is interested in the place of humans in the world and our tendency to criticize what is around us.

"My inspiration is really a sociological dialogue," Ludo said. "Nature is simply an amazing, endless source of inspiration always mutating. As a reaction and a provocation in a way, I've always been attracted by the power of nature. The duality between something nice and cute almost can turn into a violent disaster in the clap of hand. This installation is not only about flowers, but also about how we grow and evolve."

To the artist, the exhibition is an open dialogue with the audience. "I just expect they can see something new, something they feel they want to make a move to understand," Ludo said. "But in an over-saturated world of advertising, where people don't really pay attention to visuals, you have to be clever about your work if you want a reaction."

Using materials from abandoned houses in Shanghai, French artist YZ depicts a small urban landscape called Lost in the City. The artist usually looks for places with a historic background when painting in the street.

American artist JonOne's paint-spattered sneakers are on display in front of his work.

 "Climate, religion, culture and economy make every city unique," said YZ. "Buildings hold stories that tell us the past and give us keys to create our future. What I like in street art is all those particular places where you can create a piece that can resonate with the past of the building."

Paris-based artist André adorned the space with his "Mr A," a distinctive stick-figure character with a round head, a circle and a cross for eyes, a broad grin and very long legs.

Parisian artist Seth's whimsical large-scale mural piece depicts a playful girl floating dreamily in the air.

A graduate of the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris, Seth has painted murals in many countries including India, Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil and South Africa. His murals are inspired by the countries they're painted in.

Also hailing from France, Thomas Canto presents a surreal dynamic piece of futuristic urban architecture. When viewed from different perspectives, the appearance of the multidimensional black-and-white radiations varies, creating kinetic optical illusions.

Works by Chinese artists Popil and Chen Yanfei are also on view at the exhibition. Two large LCD screens in the building's foyer play videos of the artists' creating process.

Date: Until December 1, 10 am to 10 pm

Venue: 18Gallery

Address: 1/F, 18 Zhongshandongyi Road

中山东一路18号1楼

Admission: Free

Call 6323-8099 for details