A chocolate penis, a pregnant lady and a back alley. In reverse order -- the location, the owner and the press kit of new space FQ Projects, which has the distinction of being the smallest art gallery in Shanghai.
Owner and expecting mother Michelle Ni was asked to leave her job at a photography gallery Ofoto on the cities main art district, Moganshan Lu, when it became apparent that she was pregnant. "It was always my plan to open and own my own gallery," she says, "I just wasn't expecting it to happen quite so soon."
Ofoto is a one of the 30+ galleries operating out of the old warehouses on the art "street" that has become something of a supermarket over the past years, with the gross price inflation of Chinese artwork.
Ms. Ni had been out of town studying photography until approximately a year ago when she returned to her native Shanghai. Her plan was to work at a gallery learning the trade for a couple of years and then open her own place. However, with an unexpected pregnancy early on in her tenure, Michelle was pushed out of her job after only seven months of experience.
June 2007 saw the ratification of the New Labor Law in China, where it is mandatory that all workers sign contracts protecting them from just this sort of situation.
The new regulations, which include a mandatory contact for all employees, and major changes in severance obligations, will mark the first time there have been true labor standards in China--a country where more than 80% of employees currently work without contracts.
According to a partner at the Shanghai branch of Thelen, Reid, Brown, Raysman & Steiner LLP, China's new Labor Contract Law "heavily favors the employee and promises to impact they way in which managers operate."
However, in a country with 1.3 billion people and 33 provincial governments all vying to assert their power in the face of Beijing, all national ruling are a tremendous challenge to enforce.
"Many Chinese run companies are not too concerned about these laws at the moment," says the lawyer, "they are not convinced they will have to abide by them."
At the moment, the law has created an even larger double standard between the way foreign and local companies conduct business. Foreign businesses with operations in China are scrutinized, both by China and their own country and therefore must remain transparent and attentive to new laws.
The new law has proved cause for panic among foreign managers, who are fearful about costs as well as litigation.
However, the fact of the matter is this law is almost a year old and someone working in an art gallery, in China's most worldly city, apparently has no rights.
As for Ms. Ni, she seems happy to be in her own gallery. "The artists displayed here at are friends and friends of friends," says Ms Ni. And all the works she displays are "to my taste."
Although the object is to sell artwork, in these first few months Ms. Ni has only displayed works that she personally enjoys. Refreshing.
I'm still trying to figure out the chocolate penis...