798 Art District (3): Sculpture in the 798: The Political and the Whimsical... or is it all political?

Maybe its me, but i am reading political undertones to much of the art here.  The freedoms and exposure to western influences are still recent enough that even the young generations have seen massive change in their lifetime. 

Many of the sculptures I saw in this area had obvious political themes, while others seemed more directly emotional or whimsical.  Although on second look I began to read a kind of symbolism into them.  











These ones, with their broken faces, seemed, at first , to reference the remains of artifacts found in ancient ruins.  But perhaps the way in which they are "broken" is intentionally symbolic.  The fact that their eyes, ears and the whole tops of their heads (the brains and therefore thought) have been removed, illustrates how the country censors what they are allowed to see and hear from the rest of the world, impeding their ability to have think for themselves.

The melancholy expression of the mouth showing the emotional reaction.

Here are some of the more seemingly obvious political sculptures:

 This artist had other interesting sculptures in his shop that seemed to reference traditional Chinese characters and these morphed into exaggerated modern interpretations.  


These three dragons are wearing communist garb and standing at allegiance with hands over heart.  I am not sure if the colors are significant but dragons are quite symbolic in Chinese culture, symbolizing the Emporer.  So here stand three dragons in communist garb with full pockets... hmmm.







 

These seem a bit more light-hearted or design oriented in nature:

If these guys look familiar, perhaps it is because there is one like this in Millennium Park in Chicago.  I am not sure if it is the same artist, though.

Not sure how much whispering a giant metal butterfly/lion will be doing in the wind... but, ok.