©BERTRAND MEUNIER
Amsterdam’s EYE Filmmuseum announced today that Beijing–based filmmaker Wang Bing has won its 2017 EYE Art & Film Prize, which recognizes artists who blur the boundaries between art and film. Bing, who will receive £25,000 (around $31,205) for winning, will use the money to create new work to be shown at an exhibition held at the Filmmuseum in the spring of 2018, alongside the two previous prize winners, Hito Steyerl and Ben Rivers.
Bing has made a name for himself by documenting a rapidly-changing China. Working primarily alone with a digital camera, Bing captures daily life through his signature use of long takes that capture the passing of time. Bing has had retrospectives at the Centre Pompidou and the Cinematheque Royale de Belgique, and his film Three Sisters (2012) won best film at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. Bing is currently participating in Documenta 14.
“With his uncompromising way of working, Wang Bing is a sincere and authentic artist, who shows his engagement with today’s society and his perspective on the human condition,” Sandra den Hamer, CEO of the EYE Filmmuseum and chair of the prize, said in a statement. “His well-constructed work has a deep knowledge of the visual language and is a strong voice, both in cinema and in the arts. While political and outspoken, Wang Bing doesn’t push viewers to accept his perspective, rather, his beautiful, brave work leaves room for interpretation.”
Bing was selected from a shortlist presented to the Jury by an International Advisory Board that included the artist/director Isaac Julien, curator Andrea Lissoni (Tate Modern) and screenwriter/director Béla Tarr.