ON | OFF 2021：回到未来

ON | OFF 2021: Carousel of Progress

“ON | OFF”，在2013年UCCA曾作为反映后奥运时代中国年轻艺术家观念与实践的一个著名群展的主题，现在它的后面被标注上了新的时间与副标题，旨在从当下日趋激烈的，后全球化时代“整合与脱钩”的张力之中，重温与延续2013年展览未竟的主题叙事。展题的后半部分“回到未来”，以好莱坞科幻喜剧电影《回到未来》（Back to the Future）和迪士尼乐园旋转舞台表演项目Carousel of Progress之名为灵感来源，作为一种对前半部分展题的注释，包含着基于当下，返回过去与未来前进的愿景。

返回、反复与螺旋，是本次展览着重强调的策展理念，一方面是出于对“和美术馆”空间形态的诗意比兴，另一方面也试图通过作品之间观念的复沓叠增，让观众在时间与生命、全球与在地、回忆与历史的律动中，感应美术馆空间与展览空间共同构建出的宇宙观照。

展出作品涵盖绘画、雕塑、摄影、装置与影像等多种艺术媒介，涉及媒体社会、自然环境、身份认同、地理疆域等不同议题，但都共同呈现出一种源于生命内在的自省精神——何所来，何所去的自省，对应于日益加速的全球化语境，使得艺术不仅是作为保存记忆的媒介，还是一种观察主体召唤历史意识，从而超越时空的有情实践。在不同时空的呼应，汇合，流动，交错之中，“ ON | OFF 2021：回到未来”呈现了一场关于时间与生命的辩论，而辩论的答案，正隐藏在艺术空间那些震耳欲聋的寂静之处。

对现实对象的结构、材料、色彩进行绘画性再解构是高露迪创作实践中的长期线索。在《我的五官》中，画家描绘了一幅敷着面膜的正面自画像。大面积白色上隐约的色彩、形状、流动的笔触有效地暗示了面部的立体结构、肌肉形态以及面膜的湿润质感，并与从面膜孔洞中展露的五官形成强烈的视觉对比，在绘画平面上构造出了一幅虚实交错、起伏不定的面部地理图景。

在作品《Good》中，高露迪绘画了时下人们在网络空间中的某种沟通现状。画面中，绘文字（emoji）中的点赞手势、笑而不语的微笑表情、以及象征着地理定位的符号合为一体，共同型塑出了一幅略显滑稽又态度暧昧的新时代肖像。

To pictorially deconstruct the structure, material and color of real objects has been a long-standing approach in Gao Ludi's practice. In Five Facial Features, the artist depicts a frontal self-portrait with a beauty mask on. The opaque colors, shapes, and fluid strokes on the sweeping areas in white effectively suggest the three-dimensional structure of the face, its muscular form, and the wet texture of the mask. Forming a strong visual contrast with the five facial features through the holes of the mask, the artist constructs a geographic picture of the face on the picture plane with intertwined reality and undulations.

In Good, Gao Ludi draws on the current state of communication in cyberspace. His imagery integrates the guesture of "like" emoji, a faint smile, and the sign for location on the GPS, to shape a slightly comical and ambiguous portrait of the new era. 

《Darryl》是继《小男孩》（2020）之后，何翔宇的亚裔群像系列中的第二件雕塑作品。作为历史遗产、近代伤痕和未来全球愿景之间的调停者，亚裔群体的负重与其可见性始终不成比例。对于这个庞大的母题，何翔宇延续了他一直以来的创作视角：以个体身心的深度映照历史的广度，同时为材料和技术语言赋予其独立的象征意义。

与群像系列中的其他作品一样，《Darryl》的造像原型也是艺术家身边的好友，一位生长于旧金山、工作生活于柏林的华裔青年。在3D扫描已成惯例的当下，艺术家仍然选择了经典的硅胶翻模工艺，模特的身体在繁琐的翻模过程中所承受的物理压力，却让最终雕塑的肢体呈现出超然的姿态，如同铸造过程中正负空间的转换，沉重也随之化为了轻盈。正是这一过程本身呈现出了一对矛盾：一方面，在日常重复的经验和过于熟悉的感知中变得麻木而不可见的身体，重新因压力的痛苦而对模特自身、也对所有观众开始显现；另一方面，身体经验在雕塑上的体现，却是与它自身相冲突的。这种矛盾在以救世主的受难形象唤起信众省思自悔的基督教造像传统中少有存在，却在东方造像中为人熟知：无论圣者身受何种苦痛，最终的圣容无不充满悲天悯人的平静。这样的视觉传统无疑与东方的哲学思想暗合，而无论是因为这种哲学差异本身，还是仅仅因为人类的历史还未漫长到足以调和这一差异，亚洲人、尤其是海外亚裔的困境，在根本上始终与这种不可见性以及在追求可见性时遭受的内外阻力有关。正如《Darryl》伸出的双手、是给予和接受的姿态，但刻意模糊的表情，却为这一姿态即将得到的回应划上了一个问号；与《小男孩》不同，《Darryl》彻底裸露的身体仿佛又与东方造像传统鲜明地割裂开来，而试图衔接起希腊和现代主义雕塑之间的断层，这带来的“徽章”式的象征性与现实主义的脆弱感，贯穿于何翔宇的整个亚裔群像系列，为这一群体留下了游离于具体历史叙事之外的标本。

Following "Little Boy" (2020), "Darryl" is the second piece in He Xiangyu's sculpture series dedicated to Asian diasporas. As a mediator between historical heritage, the sorrows during the late modern period and future global visions, the visibility of the Asian community has always been disproportionate to its burden. 

By means of mirroring the breadth of history with the depth of individual bodies and minds, while giving independent symbolic meaning to the material and technical knowhow, He continues his long-standing perspective on this profound subject matter.

Similar to the other works in the series, "Darryl" casts from the body of a close friend of the artist, a young man of Chinese descent who grew up in San Francisco and resides in Berlin. To create the mould from a living person, the artist chose the traditional silicone moulding process over the more popular 3D scanning and printing technique. The uncomfortable, physical pressure on the model's body during the exhausting moulding process in turn endows the sculpture's limbs a transcendent grace - just as the transformation of positive and negative space in the moulding and casting process, the burden is transformed into lightness. It is this process itself that presents the paradox: on one hand, the body, which has become invisible in the repetition of daily experience and overly familiar perception, begins to reveal itself again to the model itself through the pain, and eventually to all viewers; on the other hand, the representation of this physical experience in the sculpture is, however, in conflict with itself. This contradiction is rarely found in the Christian iconographic tradition, which often employs the vivid image of the Savior's suffering to evoke introspection and self-repentance in the faithful; while it is well known in Eastern iconography: For whatever the suffering of the saints, their appearance is always full of compassionate peace. Such a visual tradition is undoubtedly implicit in Eastern philosophical thought, and whether because of this philosophical difference itself, or simply because human history has not been long enough to reconcile this difference, the dilemma of Asians, especially Asian diasporas, has always been fundamentally related to this invisibility and the internal and external resistance suffered in the pursuit of visibility. The outstretched hands of Darryl are a gesture of giving and receiving, yet the deliberately blurred expressions put a question mark on the unknown response to this gesture. Unlike "Little Boy", the completely naked body of "Darryl" seems to be distinctively separated from the Eastern iconographic tradition, while attempting to bridge the gap between Greek and modernist sculpture, which brings about a symbolism reminiscent of coat of arms (referring to Jean-Pierre Vernant on Greek sculptures) and realistic fragility simultaneously. This characteristic is present throughout He Xiangyu's new sculpture series, which embodies a specimen of this identity group outside of any specific historical narrative.

在19世纪的加州淘金热消退后，由于政府对外籍矿工征收重税，大量在加州的中国劳工由于不堪税负，被迫开始从事低收入工作，而其中的很多人便是在加州的柠檬园充当摘取柠檬的廉价劳力，在当时，这个群体被人们称为Chinese Lemon Pickers。1882年随着美国排华法案的施行，中国劳工被禁止入境美国，而仍滞留美国的中国人则无法获得美国国籍，无数家庭因此被分离，中国人在美国也一度变为一个愈发孤立、不断衰减的群体。而类似的历史也随之在日本人、墨西哥人以及直至当今的移民身上重演。

在基督教中，人的生命常常被比作树上的果实，而颇为讽刺的是，无论对于历史还是对于历史中的人，也都和果实一样，反复经历着被“摘选”（pick）的命运。本该盛满了柠檬、但却空空如也的果筐，以及已经风干变质、但却永远被“保鲜”在这腐坏的一刻的柠檬，便是对仍在发生中的历史的隐喻。

In California, when the early stages of the Gold Rush passed, the Chinese were forced to leave mining jobs by restrictions like the Foreign Miner's Tax to take on other low-wage jobs, many of them were working at the Limoneira citrus ranch. At that time, this group was called "Chinese Lemon Pickers". In the spring of 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Chester A. Arthur in response to the deteriorative public opinion against the Chinese. The Act made it impossible for the Chinese immigrant workers to reenter the U.S. should they return home. It also excluded them from obtaining US citizenship. In this way, many of them were forbidden to rejoin with their families back at home or starting families there, the Chinese became increasingly isolated in the United States. As the number of Chinese immigrant workers declined, they were replaced by immigrant workers from Japan, and then, by those from Mexico.

In Christianity, fruit from the tree is often a metaphor for the human life. Ironically, just like the fruit, both the history and the human beings in history are consistently being "picked". The empty basket, which is supposed to be full of lemons; and the rotten lemons, which are permanently "preserved" at this moment of decay, are the metaphor for the history that is still present.

李燎某次看到家里洗手池上肥皂的形状很怪异，询问妻子多次后得知，是一次争吵后妻子摔肥皂发泄形成。这个行为对于当下的经济生活是最具性价比的发泄方式，肥皂又硬又软，基本上不会损坏财产，投掷又是个非常好的锻炼方式，也具备街头革命的形式感，于是他们协商，只要是生气了，就去摔肥皂。

Li Liao found the shape of soap in the bathroom sink at home rather odd. He asked his wife and found out if she had thrown it multiple times when they quarreled. This kind of approach to release anger seems to be the most cost-effective in the current life economy, because the soap is hard yet malleable, that does not cause any damage to personal assets, and throwing can also be considered a good way to exercise, which to a certain extent, mimics the forms of behaviors in street riots. So, the artist and his wife agreed, any time anyone of them gets upset, one should throw soap around.

《重庆杂草》是童文敏“废墟项目”中的最新创作。肇始于2020年的“废墟项目”以普遍存在于中国城市中的各类废墟空间为核心，通过广泛的田野走访与调研，讨论自然、建筑、记忆、消耗、文学空间、情感空间等多元议题。与作为历史遗迹的一类废墟不同，该项目更多关注的是因城市化进程而产生的临时性废墟。在《重庆杂草》中，艺术家将目光投射至重庆废墟中具体而微的杂草之上，仔细地鉴定、辨认其种属与名称，对这些微不足道的个体及其价值加以指认。她通过绘画的方式将它们的样貌与身姿以等大的比例转移至陶土之上，并以百科全书般的文字详细记述其发现地点、性状特征等，并最终以1300度的高温将其烧至成易碎且不可降解的陶板。这些因为城市废墟而出现的无足轻重的伴生物，也势必伴随这些废墟的消失而被清除。艺术家以制作陶板这一不可逆转的方式为每一棵杂草竖立起持久却也脆弱的微型纪念碑。

Chongqing Weeds is the latest work of Tong Wenmin's "Ruins Project". The "Ruins Project," which began in 2020, focuses on the various ruins that are prevalent in Chinese cities, and through extensive fieldwork and research, the artist addresses diverse subjects including nature, architecture, memory, consumption, literary and emotional space. Unlike adopting ruins as historical relics, this project concerns with byproducts engendered from temporary ruins of urbanization. In Chongqing Weeds, Tong zooms in on specific and commonplace weeds in Chongqing's ruins, who carefully identifies and categorizes their species and names, before attributing values to these insignificant individual beings. She then paints their forms and figures in equal ratio onto the clay, and writes down their detailed location, traits, and characteristics in an encyclopedic fashion. Finally, these clays are placed in a kiln at 1300 degrees and become fragile and non-degradable clay plates. These insignificant companions are bound for removal along with the disappearance of these urban ruins. The artist adopts an irreversible approach of erecting each weed on a ceramic slab into lasting but fragile miniature monument.

影像作品《痴迷录》源于艺术家对一宗迷离失踪案的关注，继而引发了其对网络时代的欲望和执念、建筑美学与御宅文化的探讨。作品的独白暗示了一位建筑师正被心理治疗师催眠的过程，治疗师试图让建筑师把自己想象成一座建筑，通过由建筑外部进入内部，继而探索内部结构的过程，层层进入这个人的内心，发现隐藏于建筑和潜意识中的“密室”。观众看到的影像是对建造于上世纪50年代末，而今处于半荒废状态社会主义大楼“福绥境”由外及内的探索。作品中极具象征意义的建筑就像英国科幻小说家阿瑟·克拉克口中在你眼前却无法沟通的“巨大沉默物”。在此，艺术家试图以建筑的空间结构指代人类难以被认清的潜意识结构，并同时讨论了“失败建筑”的概念。

In his video work "Obsessions", the artist Wang Tuo is inspired by a mysterious missing person case. He hopes to use this piece to generate discussions about desire, obsessions, architectural aesthetics, and Otaku culture, against the backdrop of the Internet age.

The monologue in the artwork reveals the process in which an architect is gradually hypnotized by a therapist, who tries to make his patient imagine himself as a piece of architecture. As the therapist enters this structure from the outside, exploring its inner structure, he thereby gains access into his patient's inner world. In the meantime, the therapist also discovers a "secret chamber" hidden away in this piece of architecture, which is essentially the patient's subconscious. The video presents the audience with an opportunity to thoroughly explore the "Beijing Fusuijing Building", a structure built in the 1950s as an embodiment of socialist ideals. Today, however, it lies half-abandoned. This piece of architecture bears tremendous symbolic significance, as it is reminiscent of the "Big Dumb Objects" often seen in the writing of British science fiction writer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, denoting something huge that is right in front of us but that we can not communicate with. Here, the artist attempts to use the spatial structure of architecture to imitate the structure of our subconscious, which is oftentimes obscure and indiscernible. Lastly, the artist also brings forth the idea of a "failed structure".