Performers clown around, acrobats maintain precision and symmetry while a piece of meat is being tamed. Blank faces, harsh laughter and serious introspection are evoked at once.

This is a scene from a circus, created by Guest, which comprises five Chinese young artists: Li Ming, Lin Ke, Lu Pingyuan, Xu Qu and Zhao Yao.

They have come together to contribute their talents to an ongoing exhibition, titled Standing on the Shoulders of Little Clowns, which consist of paintings, installations and performances.

"We attempt to be absurd, poke fun at ourselves and try to encourage the audiences to let their hair down," says Li Ming, one of the five artists.

Their works are influenced by the theatrics and fantastic disorder of a carnival, as the artists put it. "(What we are trying to do is to encourage) an exit from reality, then a willingness to laugh at oneself, and finally a realistic acceptance of chaos."

The five artists have been chatting online for a long time and finally decided to form a group in March 2012.

"The five artists are clever and their collaborative expression is surprising," says Shanghai-based artist Xu Zhen, the curator, who founded Made In Company, an artistic group, in 2009.

Xu's intention of founding the company was to downplay his own persona and provide direction for other artists. "We want the viewers to questions our interpretations and engage in what we're presenting," Li says. "Now, we show our humorous side. We might show some of our serious or even more ridiculous sides, in future."

All the five artists and the curator gave a talk at the Artists' Talk Series at UCCA on May 6 in Chinese with English translation, under the topic of "What Do Guest Want to Breakthrough?"

On May 13, the curator will lead the viewers to explore the Standing on the Shoulders of Little Clowns exhibition from 10-11:30 am.

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/13/2012 page15)