Landfill landscapes: by Yao Lu.

Images: Via Bruce Silverstein Gallery New York.

Whilst the cognoscenti has always valued Chinese art, the same cannot be said for all aspects of the Western art establishment. But with the increasing prominence and power of the Chinese economy, and a more liberal political attitude to Chinese intellectual life, the country's art is once again beginning to assert itself. As a result the salons of Europe and America have, in recent times, become noticeably less snobbish about things Chinese.

In this context the Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York is showing an interesting collection of landscape works by the artist Yao Lu. Look closely and you will see these apparently beautiful landscapes, executed in a familiar Chinese style, are in fact collages of landfill sites!

Once you know the landscapes are of polluted environments their meaning changes and the work becomes altogether more biting and poignant.

Lu takes photos of the landfill sites and digitally collages traditional elements from Chinese paintings, creating an illusion of familiarity couched in a warning that the natural world is under threat from urban pollution.

Gratitude to io9 and others.