“PlayandLoopII”CuratedbyNickYu

Featuredartists:SophiaAl-Maria,PattyChang,LukeChingChinWai,HaoJingban,IsaacJulien,JiangZhi,LaiLonHin,LeungChiWo,NiraPereg,ShenXin,VictoriaSin,AngelaSu,PilviTakala,EasonTsangKaWai,WangBing,WongKitYi,MingWong,WongWaiYin

30June–22August2020

Venue:BlindspotGallery(15/F,PoChaiIndustrialBuilding,28WongChukHangRoad,WongChukHang,HongKong)OpeningHours:TuesdaytoSaturday,10:30amto6:30pm(SundayandMondaybyappointmentonly);closedonpublicholidaysWEEK8:Progress|WangBing,JiangZhiWeek8istitled“Progress”,andfeaturesWangBing’sCrudeOil(2009)andJiangZhi’sTheNail(2007).UsingcontemporaryChinaasacasestudyofrapideconomicgrowth,thisweek’sscreeningtracesthemanysidesofprogress,itsmanypromisesanddisillusionment.Tomoveforwardandtodevelopareinnatehumandesires,butwhentheseindividualaspirationsconflictwitheachother,orcontradictinstitutionalandsystemicteleology,thequestionarisesastowhosevalueswinoverandwhoseideologyprevailsintheconstructionofhistory.Whatonepartytoutsasprogress,anotherseestransgression.Whenoneseesforwardmovement,anotherexperiencesadamningentrapment.Revealingtheunderbellyofcapitalism,“Progress”documentstheexperiencesofthoseleftbehind,trampledon,orexploitedbythegrandforwardmovementofhistory.WangBing’sCrudeOilisa14-hourlongdocumentarydepictingscenesofoilwellsitesintheGobidesertinQinghaiprovince,China.Thecamerashootsfrom8amto10pm,withoutbreaks,andeachdaycoversanewshootinglocation

oranotherjobsite.OriginallycommissionedfortheRotterdamFilmFestivalin2008,thefilminstallationplays7hoursperday,andthewholefilmtakestwodaystocomplete.Ahybridofcinematicandmovingimageinstallation,Wangearnestlyconveystheauthenticandunembellishedrealityofthesetting.Troopsofall-malered-uniform-cladworkersoperatebulkyapparatus,restandidleinashantyshack,andchitchataboutdailylife,ambitionsandothertopicstopasstime.Inoneofmanymemorablescenes,againsttheslowhummingofheavymachineryandoildrills,theskybrightensandthesunslowlyedgesabovethehorizon,inrealtime,oblivioustotheprogressoflabour.Thetemporalcyclicalityofthefilmisincontradistinctiontothelinearteleologyinthedialecticalconceptionofprogress.

Unlikethemonotonyofso-calledprogressinCrudeOil,JiangZhi’sTheNailshowsanoppositionalmovementthatpitsitselfagainstformidableforceandisdoomedtofailfromthestart.TheNaildocumentsasensationalandcontroversialepisodeintheurbandevelopmentofChongqing,dubbedthe“NailHouse”.Whendevelopersknockedontheirdoor,WuPingandherhusbandrefusedtoselltheirhouse,andthehusbandmovedbackintothehouseinfierceresistance.Thecourtcasedraggedonfrom2003to2007,andwhilstthecouplerefusedanysettlementofferfromthepropertydeveloper,thelandsurroundingthehouseturnedintoaconstructionsite,andwaterandelectricitywerecutoff,whilethe“nailhouse”stoodtallandalonelikeafortressundersiege.Nearingthefinaldaysoffinalofficialappeal,hordesofjournalistsandlocalsgatheredaroundthesite,whiletheprotagonist,WuPing,valiantlydefendedherpropertyrightsundertheruleoflaw.The“NailHouse”wasultimatelydemolished.

AboutPlayandLoopII“PlayandLoopII”istheseconditerationofaneight-weekscreeningprogrammeatBlindspotGallery,featuringworksby18regionalandinternationalartists.Eachweek,videoworksbytwoartistswillbefeaturedandplayedcontinuouslyonloopduringtheopeninghoursofthegallery.Theselectedworkscongealintoweeklythemespertinenttoourcurrentstateofaffairsandbeing.Sedimenting,speculatingandfantasizing,theseweeklyartworkpairingsbecomenavigationpointsbetweenanunrulypastandanuncharteredfuture.ScreeningSchedule:

AboutBlindspotGallerySetupin2010,BlindspotGalleryisaHongKong-basedcontemporaryartgallery.Thegallerybeganwithaprimaryfocusoncontemporaryphotographyandimage-basedart,andhasevolvedtoincludediversemediaincontemporaryart.Thegalleryrepresentsbothemergingandestablishedartists,mainlyfromHongKongandtheregionbutalsobeyond.

Forenquiriesandmediainterviews,pleasecontactMs.MayWongat25176238orbyemailinfo@blindspotgallery.comImageCaption:WangBing,CrudeOil,2009,singlechannelvideo,14hours(Imagecourtesyofartist,MagicianSpace,andBlindspotGallery)JiangZhi,TheNaill,2007,singlechannelvideo,85’15"(Imagecourtesyofartist,andBlindspotGallery)

Week127.6–4.7

HeavyHands PilviTakalaLeungChiWo

TheStroker(2018)Sign(2008)

15’16”13’00”

Week27–11.7

StillDancing MingWongHaoJingban

NextYear|L'AnnéeProchaine|明年(2016)AnAfternoonBall(2013)

17'40"24'21"

Week314–18.7

DailyPhobia

PattyChangNiraPereg

MilkDebtHongKong,Jun8,2019(2019)67Bows (2006)andMelancholy(2009)

13'11"5’51”3’02”

Week421–25.7

GoingAway PattyChangWongKitYi

Shangri-La(2005)ARiverintheFreezer(2017)

40’00”25’25”

Week528.7–1.8

Exile WangBing

ShenXin

Traces(2014)

Strongholds (2016)

29'00"

71'00"

Week64–8.8

Chase IsaacJulienJiangZhi

Baltimore (2003)IntheWoods(2018)

11'56"22'31"

Week711–15.8

StellarContagion

AngelaSuSophiaAl-Maria+VictoriaSin

CosmicCall(2019)BCE(2019)

12'43"9'43"

Week818–22.8

Progress WangBingJiangZhi

CrudeOil(2009)TheNail(2007)

14hrs85’15”

Alsoonview

LukeChingChinWaiLaiLonHinEasonTsangKaWaiWongWaiYin

Screensaver:Sunsets(2014)BlackDream(2019)MusicBox(2018)HouseworkNo.3(2016)Clearingtenthorns(2016)

39’07”6’22”8’16”11’34”1’33”