367 JCCA 3 (3) pp. 367–376 Intellect Limited 2016 Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art Volume 3 Number 3 © 2016 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jcca.3.3.367_1 KEYWORDS Zhao Liang contemporary Chinese art irony landscape photography ecology ecological civilization propaganda PAOLO MAGAGNOLI University of Queensland The civilized artist beautifies pollution: Zhao Liang’s Water and Beijing Green ABSTRACT This article examines Zhao Liang’s photographic series Beijing Green (2004–07) and Water (2004–08). Both works document environmental degradation in the Chinese capital while making references to the Chinese pictorial tradition: the green and blue hues of Beijing Green are reminiscent of shanshui landscapes, while Water’s carefully controlled compositions and highly saturated colours are reminis- cent of early twentieth century flowers and birds paintings. The artist is interested in ephemeral sites, where the natural and the artificial are meshed together forming strangely beautiful patterns. His images of Beijing’s ecological decay are both stun- ning and deeply disturbing. Pollution is aestheticized in Beijing Green and Water: a fact that has raised substantial criticism. Art historians have condemned the culti- vated political quietude of Zhao’s practice. Yet one detects an unmistakable humour in the artist’s two photographic series, a tongue-in-cheek intonation, which distances them from the model of activist art but has nonetheless critical and subversive ends. This article suggests that the target of Zhao’s subtle irony is the state’s discourse around ‘ecological civilization’ (shengtai wenming) – still prominent today – and the official authorities ubiquitous advertisement campaign calling for the beautifica- tion of Beijing launched in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. 14. JCCA_3.3_Magagnoli_367-376.indd 367 4/21/17 11:53 AM