SINGAPORE - Mao Tongqiang’s Tools, which comprises of some 30,000 used sickles and hammers, were gathered by Mao and his associates over the course of three years from 2006 to 2008 from various parts of China.  The choice of sickle and hammer was a deliberate one. For a Chinese audience, these are, first and foremost, common tools. Yet, they are amongst the most potent symbols in China for they form the emblem of the Chinese Communist Party. First used in the early 20th century and later incorporated into the flag of the Soviet Union, the hammer was regarded as the symbol of the industrial proletariat whilst the sickle represented the agricultural peasantry.

Placing them together symbolized the unity between industrial and agricultural workers, on whose behalf the Communist cause would be fought. Over time, especially after the Communist Party rose to power in China in 1949, the twinned symbol also came to represent the close links between the people and the Party, and the struggle for the ideals of Communism.

Mao’s choice of used, rather than new, tools, is telling. Used tools bear the ravages of time and the marks of their users. Who were these users? What did they do with these tools? These questions would probably never be answered.  Here, they serve as remnants of past human effort and toil, never to be picked up again.

Mao’s fallen tools remind us that they were once useful on farms and factories, in generating food, wealth and progress for the country.  Whilst farmers and labourers had played a critical role in supporting the Communist struggle from the 1950s to the 1970s, China’s increasingly globalised society today demands that greater attention be paid to an urban population, and entrepreneurship and industrialization now drive the economy and public imagination, rather than agriculture or manual skills.  Coupled with rising costs of living, the loss of farming land to industrial development, high unemployment rates, and problems of corruption and widening income gaps, the rural communities in China have not benefited as much from the spectacular growth enjoyed in cities like Shanghai and Beijing. The abandoned tools are a silent testament to their sense of marginalization, displacement and alienation.

The choice of sickle and hammer was a deliberate one. For a Chinese audience, these are, first and foremost, common tools. Yet, they are amongst the most potent symbols in China for they form the emblem of the Chinese Communist Party. First used in the early 20th century and later incorporated into the flag of the Soviet Union, the hammer was regarded as the symbol of the industrial proletariat whilst the sickle represented the agricultural peasantry. Placing them together symbolized the unity between industrial and agricultural workers, on whose behalf the Communist cause would be fought. Over time, especially after the Communist Party rose to power in China in 1949, the twinned symbol also came to represent the close links between the people and the Party, and the struggle for the ideals of Communism.

Name of event:    Mao TongQiang - Tools - Venue: 8Q sam - Address: 8 Queen Street, Singapore 188535

Opened in August 2008, 8Q sam is a contemporary art space with fresh, multi-disciplinary, interactive and community oriented programming; a place where the public can directly experience the work and ideas of living artists, and in relation to its aesthetic and social context. 8Q sam will support experimental art forms and is envisioned to become a crossroad of new ideas and expressions. 8Q sam aspires to engage a broad and diverse audience, create a sense of community and be a place for contemplation, stimulation, and discussion about contemporary art and culture, and serves as a forum especially for the students. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the diversity of contemporary art practices ranging from painting and sculpture, to installation, film & video, photography, new media, performance art and sound art.