Tong Wenmin：From South to North
Subjective Narratology｜Your Pain is My Pain
2022.09.11 Sunday 16:00
Location
the front hall of Macalline Art Center
Guest Speaker: Xing Danwen
Moderator：Yuan Fuca
Date: September 11,2022
Time: 16:00-17:30
Whenever "pain" strikes and destroys the individual in devastating ways, we become aware of an often overlooked, even repressed, yet unavoidable life condition. Life itself means being exposed to "pain" all the time, which is not only a persistent phenomenon, but also an unavoidable reality. "Pain" is universal; it provides a portal for observing and testing the intensity of life, and furthers the imbalance and individuation in a creative way. "Pain" also has a dual nature. We avoid pain as much as possible in our daily life, but in turn, we get pleasure from its twin sister.
In the third issue of the series "Subjective Narratology", Xing Danwen will use her personal understanding of "pain" as a creative clue to explore the periodicity of "pain" – it is perpetuated in the life course of an individual, as well as in social changes. Through the growth and artistic exploration of this female artist and a generation, we will meet bizarre living forms that live in a broken scene caused by overexploitation, and your pain is mine too.
Subjective Narratology
Accompanying the exhibitions Patty Chang: We Are All Mothers and Tong Wenmin: From South to North at Macalline Art Center, Subjective Narratology is a series of artist-led public events. Invited artists will give hour-long talks on their most important moments of subjectivity. Each event will comprise of an experiential story told by the artist, with specific visual materials beyond art: screenshots, tweets, images, texts, quotations, situations, bodies. Non-linear narratives, incomplete materials, misremembered information, eclectic decisions, or mysterious moments all contribute to the practice of the artists engaged in creation today.
About the Artist
Xing Danwen (born 1967) is best known for her photographic work documenting the underground cultural and artistic activities in mid-to-late 1990s Beijing and was one of the earliest artists in China to employ photography as an art form. She works with mixed media, video and multimedia installations as well as photography to address various issues around Chinese society, gender, globalisation and consumption.
