Gao Brothers
dal 28/7/2009 al 28/7/2009
Segnalato da
28/7/2009
Gao Brothers
Para Site Art Space, Hong Kong
World Hug Day. During the performance strangers are invited to choose a person at random for a hug, which they will then do simultaneously with other couples, accompanied by music.
Para/Site Art Space is honored to bring Gao Brothers' warm hugs from China
to Hong Kong. Strangers are invited to choose a person at random for a
hug, which they will then do simultaneously with other couples,
accompanied by music. The mass hugging performance World Hug Day- Hong
Kong will be staged outside Hong Kong Arts Centre on 29 July 2009 at 5pm.
Everyone is welcome to show up and participate.
The group hug performance
was first done in Shangdong Province, China in 2000. Since then they have
taken their big hugs to different public locations in countries like
China, Germany and UK. The performance challenges the use of public space
in Hong Kong. The project engages in the way public space is controlled
and brings an intimate act into the public arena, and is connected with
the development of 'Body Art' in the 70s and 'Relational Art' in the 90's.
In China its meaning is connected to the echoes and resonances of the
effect of the Cultural Revolution in people's behaviour. In 2001 Harald
Szeemann invited the Gao Brothers to perform their 'Utopia of the Embrace'
as part of 49 Venice Biennial, on this occasion the artists where famously
banned from traveling and unable to attend their own performance.
The Gao
Brothers are based in Beijing and are authors of several published works,
including 'How Far Can You Walk in One Day in Beijing', 'The Current State
Of Chinese Avant-Garde Art' and 'The Report Of Art Environment'. They have
been collaborating on installation, performance, sculpture, photography
works and writing since the mid1980s. They are well known for their
politically charged art. Their work has been included in 'A History Of
China Modern Art',' China Avant-garde Photography', 'The Best Photography
Of China', etc. and is held in private and museums collections, including
China National Art Museum, Centre Georges Pompidou, The San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art, The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art etc. This
project is part of a series of public performances initiated last January
by Tatsumi Orimoto.
29 July, 2009; 5pm-6pm
Para/Site Art Space
4 Po Yan Street (224 Hollywood Road), Sheung Wan - Hong Kong