Subjective Narratology|Becoming Location

2022.08.21 Sunday 16:00

Location

the front hall of Macalline Art Center

Guest: He An、Yuan Fuca

Date: August 21,2022

Time: 16:00-17:30

In the religious system of ancient Rome, genius loci refers to the protective spirit of a place. The place is thus endowed with a soul, and becomes a presupposition to man who has to adapt to the material and spiritual conditions of the place in order to survive. In the meanwhile, places accommodate and nourish one’s real life, shaping their belonging and identification. Locations synthesize natural and artificial elements to endow the buildings with a continuous meaning, and managing a place is to visualize these elements of the genius loci.

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

He An (b.1971  Wuhan, Hubei, China) lives and works in Beijing. He An is part of an emerging generation of artists born after China’s Cultural Revolution who are making work in the midst of an enormous industrial expansion. His work largely deals with the physical and psychological atmosphere of China’s growing cities, especially the signs, lights, and language that populate the built environment. His work was featured in the Shanghai Biennale (2006); he also shows at Leo Xu Projects (Shanghai), Pace Beijing, Galerie Daniel Templon (Paris and Brussels), and White Rabbit Gallery (Sydney).

Becoming Location

The Macalline Center of Art (MACA) is a non-profit art institution located in the 798 Art District of Beijing and officially inaugurated its space on January 15, 2022. Occupying a two-story building with a total area of 900 square meters, MACA unites artists, curators, and other art and cultural practitioners from around the world. Through its diverse, ongoing, and collaborative approaches, the Center establishes a new site on the contemporary art scene. Guided by the “work of artists” and backed by interdisciplinary research, the Center aims to bring together a community passionate about art and devoted to the “contemporary” moment so as to respond proactively to our rapidly evolving times.