A Lesson in Extremes 22.01.2011 ¡V 21.02.2011 Private View and Reception: 21.01.2011, 6.00pm to 8.00pm Artists: HU Xiangqian | TSUI Kuang-Yu | WAZA Group | Jun YANG Curator: Pauline J. YAO
In 2009 Artic Diary (2010), artist Tsui Kuang-Yu transposes everyday urban scenarios in Taipei with the extreme conditions of the North Pole. The vignettes are linked to the artist¡¦s participation in an expeditionary residency program in the Arctic Circle and point to curious parallels and wild disparities upon returning from his experiences in the harsh environment. The carefree and bucolic scenes of WAZA Group¡¦s Post-Space 1 (2008), by contrast, are comprised from found film footage from the 1950s and 1960s and come across as not only deeply nostalgic but also highly incongruent with the current images of the rapidly urbanizing Wuhan. Set to wistful music, the pieced together clips appear as one narrative with recurring characters but in fact represent disjointed episodes and unconnected individuals from a distant past. Jun Yang¡¦s Paris Syndrome (2008) is a re-contextualized portrayal of a psychological disorder by the same name known to afflict tourists who visit or vacation in Paris. A breakdown is known to occur when tourists¡Xcommonly Japanese ones¡Xare unable to reconcile the dream-image with the harsh reality of Paris itself. Yang¡¦s film situates this trauma within the context of contemporary China by looking at fairy-tale urban constructions conjuring real and mythical European counterparts. |