Exhibit exploring characteristics of polyphony
Along with the consequences of global standardization on a superficial level, radical changes have simultaneously germinated within society. Before one voice is fully heard, many more have flourished, waiting to be addressed and distinguished.
Thus the term of heteroglossia, also known as the theory of polyphony — a concept introduced by the Russian literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin in 1929 to summarize the unique characteristics of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novels.
In Dostoevsky’s work, each character represents a voice that speaks for an individual self, distinct from others. At the same time, the voices of others are heard by each individual and each inescapably shapes the character of the other.
Themed on this idea of polyphony, the exhibition “Heteroglossia” at the HOW Art Museum brings together a group of artists actively engaged in the contemporary art scene from across the world, including China, Singapore and the Netherlands.
Featured in this exhibition are installations and videos, accompanied by other forms of art, such as performance and multi-media installations.
"The Great Wall?" by Wang Qingsong
Viewers get to see the Wang Qingsong and Yangjiang groups questioning consumer society through a series of striking visual signs and commodities; Cao Fei and Fiona Tan directing their cameras towards the daily life of individuals often neglected by society at large; the employment of multi-media sources by Ho Tzu Nyen, Peng Hung-Chih and Samson Young that address issues related to history and identity, in the past, present, and future.
Instead of using first-person narrative, Xiao Yu and Lu Lei’s works adopt the perspective of an outsider for the expression of life’s potential and dynamic forces; and as an attempt at Gesamtkunstwerk focusing on the visual statement, Tiong Ang’s performance undermines the conception of boundaries and brings to the audience an open structure of space.
"No Man" by Ho Tzu Nyen
Growing up in an age of increased globalization and accelerated economic development, a world that keeps changing so fast, particularly through innovation in new technology and media, this generation of artists experienced a markedly different world from their predecessors.
Their works reflect the plurality and fluidity that characterizes our contemporary culture and society, where independent, uncompromising voices and ideas come at us through a variety of different agencies, but which nonetheless intertwine with each other and participate equally in the discussions and debates of a shared landscape.
All are welcome onboard and join in this carnival of communications that are exposed to the general influence of Chinese culture, yet have evolved along different trajectories by incorporating distinct varieties of historical experience, memory, and identity.
"Pretending Egomania" by Lu Lei
"Bookshelf Music" by Samson Young
Exhibition details
Date: Through February 17 (closed on Mondays), Tuesday-Friday, 1-10pm, Saturday-Sunday, 10am-10pm
Venue: HOW Art Museum
Address: No 1, Lane 2277 Zuchongzhi Rd, Pudong New Area
