-016 Wu Yuren
If there is one thing that you can change in a previous project of yours, what would it be?
Overall, when a conceptual idea in art seeks expression, it simultaneously implies a form of absence—much like the aesthetics of wabi-sabi. Therefore, some unrealized expressions may later become foreshadowings of new ideas.
In December 2019, during my solo exhibition at MACRO - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Roma, one of my main works, “The Truth Is Concrete No. 2” embodied this kind of selective absence. The work was conceived as a site-specific project inspired by the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy, in 2018—a tragedy that involved both design flaws and corruption, resulting in many casualties.
I discussed with the museum the possibility of obtaining fragments from the ruins of the bridge to realize the work. After carrying out a silent protest using those fragments on the streets of Rome and inside the museum, I had two possible final forms in mind: one was to build a stacked tower, and the other, a stone arch bridge. At the time, I chose the tower, believing it carried a stronger sense of commemoration, and so that was what I executed.
Later, I often thought about that choice and felt a sense of regret—that the arch bridge might have held a more hopeful symbolism and a sense of futurity. Of course, recalling it now, this reflection has already led to new ideas and directions. As it happens, the question posed in Open Kitchen Negatives provides an opportunity to talk about precisely this.
[Original Response in Chinese]
总体上来说，当艺术上的观念诉诸于表达时及同时意味着缺失。一如侘寂美学。所以有些未能实现的表达也许会在未来成为新思路的伏笔。2019年12月我在罗马当代艺术博物馆做的个人展出中，我的其中一件主要的作品《真理是具体的No.2》中就出现这样的选择性缺失。原初这件作品是一件在地创作的作品，作品的灵感来源于2018年意大利热亚那大桥的垮塌，其中涉及了设计与腐败的双重问题，死伤惨重。
我与馆方商量取来大桥的废墟残片来实现作品。在运用残片做完罗马街头与博物馆内静默抗议后我当时已有两个最终计划形式，一个是做成堆塔，另一个计划是做成石拱桥。当时决定塔更有纪念感，就实施了这个。在后来的时间中我常常想起这个选择，觉得有点缺憾，不如拱桥更有希望的寓意与未来感。当然我现在想起这已经有了新的思路与延展，正逢开放厨房项目中的提问，我觉得可以谈一谈。
Video documentation of the performance, with curator Marta Francocci.
About Wu Yuren:
The multimedia artist and activist Wu Yuren was born in Changzhou City, China, in 1971. He graduated from the art department of Jiangsu Technology Normal Academy, Changzhou, China, in 1994.
From an early age, Wu was consumed with the political values of his native land. In 2010, incensed by the unsanctioned decision to evict artists from Beijing’s 798 studio district, he staged a public protest along with Ai Weiwei, which led to his consequent arrest and jail time for ten months. Drawing from that experience, Wu began to create his lightbox series, which chart the status of expression and censorship in modern China. His artistic practice has been documented by The New Yorker, the New York Times and NPR.
Wu’s works have been featured in instituional exhibitions such as The Truth is Concrete, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Roma, Rome, Italy (2019); Heaven in a Room. Wooden Ceilings in Renaissance Florence and Rome, Uffizi Gallery, Rome, Italy (2019); Some Years, White Box Museum of Art, Beijing, China (2010); and Man-Made Environment, The Little Gallery, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada (2006). Group exhibitions include Not On Site: Absolute Threshold and a Type of Site-Specific Drfit, Nanjing University of the Arts Museum, Nanjing, China (2015); Serve the People, White Rabbit Collection, Sydney, Australia (2013); Body Art: New Photography from China, IDEA Space, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO (2009); Deep Pond and Float Chamber, Qinghe Current Art Center, Nanjing, China (2008); N-PLY Identity, Military Museum, Nanjing, China (2002); and Dialogue – The Other, Modern and Contemporary Art Museum, Bari, Italy (2001).
Wu Yuren currently lives and works in New York.
All images courtesy of Wu Yuren