Wang Qingsong’s "Happy Bed" is filmed in one still shot in which the large screen is divided into 35 cell-like bed spaces dimly lit by flashing lights in garish colours, the setting is suggestive of a brothel or a raunchy nightclub. Against the ambience sound of a throbbing heartbeat, naked couples became distinguishable in the cells and appear to be engaging in sexual congress. The scene is neither erotic nor pornographic, but carnal and ritualistic. Post-nuptial, the couples revert to their cocoons and the surreal scene returns to an empty pulsation of throbbing heartbeats, awaiting the next cycle. Exploring the primal and universal drives of reproduction and mating, the artist considers the work “an ultrasound image of life in the womb, throbbing, strong, unstoppable”.
