Roy Ascott Retrospective
Technical Direction and Installation of Original Artworks
From October 2012 to March 2013, the Shanghai Biennale took place in the Power Station of Art. The theme “Reactivation” refers to the relocation of the Shanghai Biennale and the establishment of the Shanghai Power Station of Art at the location of the original Nanshi Power Plant and the Pavilion of the Future (World Expo 2010 Shanghai). This reformation demonstrated the significance of the Shanghai Biennale 2012, establishing the Power Station of Art as a generator of thought and creativity. The biennale was curated by Qiu Zhijie, and it included international and local artists such as Chico MacMurtrie, Jeffrey Shaw, Hu Jieming, Joseph Kosuth, Roy Ascott, and many more.
For the biennale, I directed and developed original artworks for Roy Ascott, a pioneer artist in media art, specialising in technoetics, telematics, and cybernetics. A retrospective of previous artworks was installed and exhibited, and, in addition, new works were developed that either re-contextualize previous pieces or extended them utilising contemporary media systems and technologies.
One example was the LPDT3, a third piece from the series “La Plissure Du Texte”. For this work, a tabletop system was developed to display 3D generated imagery extracted and mixed from telematic sources, and, in addition, to provide interactive facilitation for the users. Furthermore, visual imagery was developed for other parts of the exhibition space, including thought cards on LED screens, audiovisual content, and physical installations.
Finally, a new artwork was exhibited under the name “Journey to the West”, which involved a telematic performance system and the interaction of 50 participants (artists and researchers). The work is based on the homonymous famous Chinese novel that was published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty, however, in this work, the story is re-contextualized and blended with Roy Ascott’s original “La Plissure Du Texte”. Each participant selected one mythological person/creature/animal from across the world as their avatar, and based on their selection they participated in the real-time development of the story. The narrative was displayed for the visitors to view and interact with.
The exhibition hosted an approximate half million visitors, in this newly renovated building, with 40,000m2 of space, and between 9,000-15,000m2 devoted to the exhibitions of the biennale.
