At 2 p.m. on February 19, the Cloister Project will host the public event “Sprouting” at the Cloisters Apartments. As an extension of Liao Fei’s solo show “Depiction,” this event will bring in a number of students aged six to ten from different Shanghai schools. Guided by program curator Duan Kexin, the children’s interactions with the works will be transformed into a game that investigates the intersections of body and object, text and image.

In “Depiction,” Liao Fei’s explorations of objects develop from basic geometric elements and engage with the fixed relationships between people and everyday items from multiple perspectives. In Holding a Cup, Liao generates, much like an algorithm, all of the possible positions of a hand and a coffee cup. In Intersection, Chinese phrases and other elements are centered in the frame and randomly layered. The places where the characters intersect are marked in red, yellow, blue, and other colors, a logical process that produces an abstraction. During “Sprouting,” the children will re-enact the different positions of hands and coffee cups and record their combinations in photographs. Next, they will paint the characters for their parents’ names or their own names, adding colors based on the creative logic of Intersection. At the end of the program, students will receive a framed memento. 

“Sprouting” brings together elements from gaming, mathematics, and art. Situated somewhere between artistic creation and puzzle games, the program allows children to experience the unique interdisciplinarity of contemporary art. In Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga wrote, “In play there is something ‘at play’ which transcends the immediate needs of life and imparts meaning to the action.”