Spanish-style house apt venue for LATAM exhibition
The Spanish-style garden house is hosting "Way Home," an exhibition bringing together 13 artists from more than 10 nations to tell the story of Latin America.
The Spanish-style garden house at 52 Yongfu Road has been turned into an unusual work of art in its own right, draped in vibrant pink Bolivian textiles designed by Bolivian artist Gaston Ugalde.
"Way Home" is an invitation-only exhibition inside this 90-year-old structure that brings together 13 artists from more than 10 nations to tell the story of Latin America, its indigenous cultures, and its knowledge and tradition.
"Chamans" by Bolivian artist Gaston Ugalde.
"Perhaps more than ever, we must examine the land beneath our feet in terms of its culture, ecology, environment, economy and politics. We hope to return to the concrete content of the abstract statement through this exhibition, to understand through a concrete clue, to observe from the other side, to critically examine our inner selves and to build a concrete cultural scene in the midst of the urban bustle," said curator Xu Chengxi.
Works of all mediums and forms have been assembled inside this amazing 1932 structure, positioned in each unique space or room, to facilitate a unique interaction between art and society.
Artists use indigenous textiles to represent and reimagine history, bridging ancient traditions and modern artistic techniques to weave an "epic of Latin America."
A work from Gaston Ugalde's collage collection, "I Will Come Back and I Will Be Millions"
Gaston Ugalde, a pioneer in the field of Latin American video art in the 1970s, uses textile as one of his primary subjects and objects. He is captivated by the beauty of their colors and textures, as well as the way in which each thread mixes political and anthropological notions.
Historically, blankets have been used to guard against the cold in the Andes. The symbolism of the colors changes from region to region and serves a similar purpose to a bar code, to identify a region, a function, or a ceremony.
His inspiration comes from Bolivian landscapes, the Andes, the Amazon and the valley. The artist utilizes traditional Andean textiles and converts them into contemporary collages and installations. His famous textile sculptures and textile patchwork, which combine the ancient and the new in a riot of colors, are on display.
Exhibits from "Nodal Landscapes" by Peruvian artist Kristie Arias
"Nodal Landscapes" is a textile installation by Peruvian artist Kristie Arias. It is made up of a series of stratigrams, or soft stratigraphies. Each piece demonstrates in every texture what a rift in the earth is: strata or sedimentary rocks; fragments of geological history that Arias ties to the textile narrative of a pre-Columbian past and a subversive present; the life cycle and the possibility of regeneration; and the concept of solid infinity.
Additionally, the use of color is a trip through the knot. The stripes are a reference to the chromatic patterns in the sedimentary rocks, and then they move away from the earth to take on the hues of Paracas and Lambayeque.
The AMANO Museum's collection of pre-Columbian textiles has had a significant impact on Arias's work, and the Paracas funeral bundles reveal a further connection between textiles and the earth. Parallel layers of looms to geological strata: two burial methods. As a sign of regeneration, this funerary knot is also a nest.
"Time Capsule" by Chinese artist Gu Chenyi
"When we look back from distant Latin America to the land beneath our feet and explore Chinese people's historical narratives of fabric traditions and regional rituals beginning with the concept of 'home,' we will be astounded by the astonishing similarities between civilizations," said Xu.
The Naze Naze project at the exhibition displays an archive documenting the weaving traditions of the Dulong village and the urban-rural relationship.
In 2015, the klee klee design team and members of the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation visited Dulong settlements along the China-Myanmar border. Weaving has always been an integral aspect of the Dulong people's culture, and they are famed for their distinctive blankets. This blanket has a distinctive appearance due to its bright woven stripes.
The project aims to increase the value of local women's labor using contemporary manufacturing techniques and to encourage more Dulong women and youth to engage in the project. As the Dulong project progressed, klee klee's team explored additional rural places with well-preserved weaving traditions and befriended more individuals dedicated to promoting local development.
The Naze Naze initiative displays the weaving traditions of the Dulong village and the urban-rural relationship.
Exhibition info:
Date: Through November 13 (closed on November 11), 10am-5:30pm
Address: 52 Yongfu Rd
