| Project title: | In Between Sites, In Between Others |
| Venue: | Boston International School, Wuxi, China |
| Date: | 28 October – 1 November 2024 |
Artist’s statement:
My work is rooted in ideas around queer phenomenology where I am interested in both creating and relating to the experience of different bodies. Queer phenomenology here being a key concern as I make art from the perspective of a queer body. I am interested in creating environments and experiences which viewers can relate to and interact with, as a form of dialogue between me (as artist), the artwork, the viewer’s experience and last (but not least) the space which the work is displayed in. My process has led me to further explore both expanded painting as a means of working as it frees me from the traditional canvas frame and all that this form entails. My process has also made me more interested in Karen Barard’s theory of “Agential Realism” where materiality starts to have agency and effect in the process of creation and possibly the viewing thereof.
Contextual Statement:
The project was in response to the following research question:
How can a body of sculpture, expanded painting and interactive objects encourage exchange and dialogue by exploring the dynamic and everchanging interactions between expatriate and local communities through an interactive, mobile and fluctuating installation experience?
The project aimed to realise and function as two things: a site for hypothesis and a body in flux.
The project took the form of an installation of both movable paintings and sculpture pieces. It was presented to 12 classes that I teach ranging from 5 to 11 year old students. The students were given the opportunity to move various pieces in the exhibition around as they saw fit. The project was initially aimed at an adult audience however due to several social and practical limitations I only managed to show the project o the students and adults that were available at the time.
The project seemed to function much like Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the “Rhizome”: a space that is less hierarchical that allows for various forms of meaning and connection to occur. The geo-cultural context of China also gave the project a certain resonance in that it created a potential space for play and interaction in an environment that is quite heavily monitored in terms of ideology.
Project documentation:
Titles and a questionaire answered by expatriates on their experience as an other overseas were accessed through QR codes found at the front of the exhibition (see image below).
The QR code used to access the quesionaire posed to expatriates living overseas displayed at the exhibition, as well as examples of illustrations as a key to access titles and details of the artwork via the second QR code displayed. QR codes were used as they are a common way of both accessing information and paying in China.
