“Track and Field” is an installation created by Allora & Calzadilla for the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2011. The artwork is a cumbersome and disruptive critique of what the artists consider to be the two most fervent passions of the United States: war and sports.
The tank – overturned and fused with the treadmill on which several American athletes took turns running – symbolizes a committed satirical critique of war and America’s role in it.
These are precisely the aspects that link this artwork to the artistic poetics of Chen Qiuchi. The artist often questions the meaning of individual and collective freedom, comparing and measuring the destiny of Chinese citizens with that of American citizens.
