Abramovic / Ulay, Kaiserschnitt (Caesarean), 1978, video, 6’58” Marina Abramovic and Ulay are performance artists who lived and collaborated together for two decades beginning in the 70s. Non-rehearsed, open-ended and extreme, their performances always went to the borders of their (and sometimes the audience’s) possibilities. The triangular construction “Kaiserschnitt” is a metaphor for the relationship between the two artists and their audience. A horse stands in the centre of a large space, tied to a rope. Ulay and Abramovic are connected to the horse by means of the rope which runs through two rings fastened to opposite walls. Ulay and Abramovic both have one arm through the loop in the rope, while with the other arm they hold on to each other, so that the triangle is complete. The consequence of this construction is that every time the horse moves, Ulay and Abramovic can feel it. They are unable to relax under the tension of the rope and they constantly try to offer some resistance to the rope, symbolic of the tensions and struggles one encounters in space. Joseph Beuys, I Like America and America likes me, 1974, video, 37’ German artist Joseph Beuys is famous for his ritualistic public performances. In 1974 he had his first journey to America, but instead of visiting, he had himself picked up at the airport, wrapped in felt, driven to his gallery, and there caged together with a coyote for four days. The coyote is seen by many as a dangerous animal, but it is also a holy one for the Native Americans. In addition to the two creatures, Beuys had a copper rod and natural felt in the space, both signature materials for the artist, and a stack of The Wall Street Journal was delivered to the gallery every day. Throughout the performance, although there was visible tension, the coyote never threated or harmed Beuys. Monica Bonvinci, No Erection Without Castration, 2006, Untitled (Chain Swing), 2006 Italian artist Monica Bonvinci’s works frequently deconstruct the male-dominated ideals of modern architecture. With her large room installations that reminiscence craftworkshops, S&M parlours and children’s playgrounds she creates unusual environments that are beautiful, tempting and scary at the same time. Her pointed graffiti-like comments are not limited to architecture but also use the discipline as a platform to critique everyday gender politics. Duan Jian Yu, Artistic Chicken, 2003 Often in her paintings Duan Jian Yu presents the audience with uncomfortable scenarios in which farm animals find their way into everyday situations. The chicken motif is now found again in her new series of photographic works as they act as silent bystanders in a menage a trois scene. Her works, mixing vulgarity and absurdity, act as a guide to everyday living where boundaries seem to have lost their place in contemporary Chinese society as standards and attitudes are redefined on a day-to-day basis. Her images exist in a unique time and space. In her depiction of the Wrongness”, she explores possibilities between appropriation and individual imagination. Gutierrez + Portefaix, WHOSE VALUES?, 2007 “WHOSE VALUES?” questions the recent trend in real estate ad campaigns as developers engage in a game of attract and distract with the public, using beauty queens, models and imperial icons to sell luxury apartments. Taking this strategy, Gutierrez + Portefaix push it further by juxtaposing a pornographic image with a word searching game. The viewers are confronted with a maze of letters and keywords revealing the true picture underneath the game of seduction that developers play for the sake of marketing space. Ho Siu Kee, Gravity Hoop, 1997 Drawing from the ancient Chinese myth of creation and the western idea of the golden proportion, Ho Siu Kee develops his own science and instruments, putting the human body in unnatural circumstances to explore its limitations against the machine and space and its direction and relationship to space and time. Ho’s artistic practice has always involved the investigation and understanding of the body’s reflexive responses under specific conditions. Constructed from his body proportions together with his own science, Ho creates his own space with “Gravity Hoop”. In his works, Ho’s body becomes an instrument in what may seem to be an endurance training where space is experienced and balance is reestablished through the defiance and reversal of the natural order. Hu Xiang Qian, Trend Blindly, 2005, video, 3’
In “Trend Blindly”, Hu Xiang Qian transforms the nondescript buildings commonly found in the city of Guangzhou into Styrofoam sculptures bobbing on the Pearl River. These floating buildings, taken out of their original context, are a poetic reflection of the relationship of architecture, city space and stability admist the speed of development in China. Huang Xiao Peng, I always get a bit jumpy when I’m suspended in the air, 2005, video, 16’ Huang’s video is his mediation on the idea of background, which we tend to overlook and ignore. It also refers to the uncertain and dubious nature of space being on the edge in which the attempt to establish a balance seems to be in a repetitive cycle. Having spent 28 years in China and 14 in the UK, “I always get a bit jumpy when I’m suspended in the air” is also his portrayal of his own identity, as he tries to reposition his background and perspective (2:1 ratio) in relation to the world with his uncertain identity. Jakob Kolding, Untitled, 2005, Untitled, 2000 Having grown up in a Social-Government estate in Denmark, Kolding is extremely interested in the way these estates are planned, built and laid out. He creates posters out of his personal visits to cities, reacting mainly to social government projects. Combining mixing techniques adopted from contemporary music to create his collages, his images are multilayered compositions of everyday experiences of today. The questions asked are dedicated to the people that are actually living in (and using) the buildings as well as to the planners and architects designing them. Lin Yi Lin, Human Being, 2007 Lin Yi Lin, a performance artist from Guangzhou and founding member of the influential group “Big Tail Elephant”, realises performances that define and question the public urban space. This piece documents a man’s walk with his hand tied to his foot by handcuffs. The man is manoeuvring through an ordinary Chinese city, disturbing the bystanders who watch him but not enough for them to stop an obviously restrained men. Ivy Ma, 4 dimensional dreams of a sleepless city, 2005 Originally an installation, “4 dimensional dreams of a sleepless city” is here displayed as a photo documentation, drawing attention to the drama that is evoked from the shadows in this piece. Made of metal and glass, the bed resembles the mirror-walled high-rises that are found all over Hong Kong and the nervousness Ma has towards these structures. She extends this unease into dreams, investigating the limitations of physical space and mental space through the transversal of both spaces. (expansion of space) Andrew McLeod, House, prison, brothel, studio, 2002 New Zealand artist Andrew McLeod’s drawings are strange fantasy plans for another world. McLeod uses architectural plans as a motif to create not only a space in which desire can be expressed, but also a place where these longings can be manifested. A combination of different floor plans in the shape of a girl and an officer’s head, these plans is his design for a brothel and can be seen as game, as one loses oneself in the maze of desires and longings. Erkka Nissinsen, Untitled, 2007 Space is luxury and an oasis or island is the ultimate pleasure place on earth. These little hideaways are the dreams of all of us, but looking closer, drama is just around the corner. The distance from heaven to hell is much smaller than expected, especially if the space of the playing field is smaller than expected and there are hidden unknown dangers lurking behind every tree. Marcel Odenbach, Stehen ist nichtumfallen, (Standing is not falling), 1989, 5’, Brandzeichen (Burning marks), 2005 (series of 5) A master of editing, German video artist Marcel Odenbach frequently combines classical and nationalistic images with commercial and media images to illustrate the conflict between them. In his video “Stehen ist nichtumfallen”, he puts very different films together, from the execution in the Vietnam war and scenes from the NaziWWII trail to himself getting his hair cut. In doing this he is not only questing the authority and validity of the moving image but also each person’s individual role in it. Underlined with different distinguished music these collages out of film will tell you another story every time you watch them. In his paper collages (here on banners) of Africa, the artists cuts out the shapes of some of the colonial powers of the 19th century, leaving nothing but a void in the middle of people of Africa. Tozer Pak, Despising Hong Kong Series No. 1: Despising One’s Own History, 2006 As an observer of Hong Kong’s life and current affairs, Pak’s works document historical moments in the city in the forms of photographic documentation or collage. Originally made for the Sunday Supplement of Ming Pao Daily, Pak’s “Despising Hong Kong Series No. 1: Despising One’s Own History” is his response to the demolition of the Star Ferry clock tower. A record of his process of defacing the Queen’s head on one-dollar coins issued during Hong Kong’s colonial rule, the work becomes a heavy-hearted metaphor of the government’s and the general public’s attitude and awareness towards our past. It stands as a sombre reminder to Hong Kong of the urgent reality that our collective history is slowly undergoing destruction. Santiago Sierra, THE WALL OF A GALLERY PULLED OUT, INCLINED 60 DEGREES FROM THE GROUND AND SUSTAINED BY 5 PEOPLE, 2000 Santiago Sierra challenges audiences with his harsh performances that engage the economic and power relations of today’s capitalist society. When he pays people only $70 USD for a week’s hard work that obviously does not produce anything (other then an artwork), or when he pays $50 USD to have a line tattooed on the backs of five men, it raises the question not only of minimum wage and what kinds of work people do to earn money, but also of exploitation and its justification within the accepted norms. Sean Synder, The Site, 2004 Snyder’s works are often analyses of the public pictures we get to see in the mass media. In this piece, he analyzed the photographs taken at the space in which Saddam Hussein was arrested: a small hole in the earth equipped with a bare minimum of what is needed to sustain life. Snyder presents an exact list of all the found food and accessories belonging to the late Iraqi dictator, as well as a list of the sources where we could find the pictures and information. It is proof not only of a very poor life, but also of the ways modern media images and details travel from their origin, in this case from an earth hole somewhere in the Middle East into everybody's minds. Hiram To, Design for the VANGUART Party, Graphics by Ying-tin Lai, 2007 To “Design for the VANguART Party” offers an ironic outlook on the artistic climate and hierarchy in Hong Kong, navigating between the realms of magic and political propaganda. “The Pledge, The Turn and The Prestige” refers to three acts that form a great magic trick, linking art together with magic and illusion. By posing a question as to who holds the power in the art world, the piece is also his commentary on the local art scene, referring the idea of “Folk art” and “People’s art” with word pun “Folk Art”. With the phrase “Let a thousand flowers bloom,” often coveted by Hong Kong and Chinese leaders on Hong Kong, it is a poignant remark on the idea of creating hierarchies for the sake of stablisation where balance sometimes is an illusive image. Tsang Tak Ping, Kith, I HK, 2007 Tsang, an active member in the conservation of the Star Ferry clock tower, created “I HK” which stands as a memorial for the clock tower’s disappearance. Using the concrete covers for telephone cables as part of his piece, the words “I HK” are a criticism towards the competition of space and interests within Hong Kong. His act of vandalizing is a direct remark on Hong Kong’s obsession of mobility and change, as spatial significance and history is under a constant process of building and bulldozing. Urbanus, Tulou low income housing, 2005-2006 Urbanus is an architectural group based Shenzhen. The group’s interest lies in designing architecture from the perspective of the ever-changing urban situations in China. Included in this exhibition are various plans of low income housing complexes to be built in Shenzhen. They are inspired by ancient Fujian clay houses, and are currently in their final planning stage. Through the uncommon architectural form that loosely resembles a panopticon, one is prompted to think about how relationships are created within such an environment. Adrian Wong, Four, 2007, wood, enamel. Playing With The Dead, 2007, glass, wood, vinyl, mirrors, ghosts. Wong’s two new works “Four” and “Playing With The Dead” play on the culture and nature of fear towards death, using an obvious play on the Cantonese words "sei"(four) and "seih" (die). Awkwardly propped up in an angle, the formalist sculpture asks viewers to reflect on readings that are attached to cultural symbolism and superstition. Inspired by stories of ghosts entering his studio, Wong’s “Playing With The Dead” puts together a collection of descriptions of ghosts populated through stories, traditions and ceremonies. 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