Zhuhai-based British performance artist Bill Aitchison and artist Elin Zhang Shuxian from Sichuan are currently showcasing their works at the Ox Warehouse in two simultaneous exhibitions: “2+0/1+1 Artist-in-Residence Programme: Borrowed Land part 1/ Doppelgangers: A Bill Aitchison Solo Project” and “2+0/1+1 Artist-in-Residence Programme: Tea Room”.
The works are on display at the Ox Warehouse building located at the junction of Avenida do Coronel Mesquita and Avenida Almirante Lacerda, until June 8.
Aitchison’s solo exhibition is the first part of a long-term personal project entitled “Borrowed Land”, which uses his fascination with the local environment as its starting point, according to a recent Ox Warehouse statement.
The English-language statement refers to the Ox Warehouse as “Former Municipal Cattle Stable”.
The statement added that Aitchison’s exhibition “offers a discourse on the self-awareness of the body in relation to the concept of localisation”.
Videos of Aitchison’s outdoor performances filmed at selected locations in Macau, the performative site, are featured, including one where he is transformed into a “mud man” and walks around while pushing office supplies, as well as ones where he carries around a male mannequin that either resembles him or is naked, raising the question of “alter ego”. These videos, along with the selection of materials including mud and plastic are “clear indications of both ‘objectification’ and resistance to objectification, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Zhang’s exhibition, which came about during her brief stay in Macau and is about conversation, displays her new artworks, namely two videos featuring her self-dialogue, a video of her speaking with a rickshaw driver outside Hotel Lisboa, and an installation entitled “Lay It On The Table”. The installation, the statement said, serves “as a space to facilitate dialogue with the audience”, noting that a conversation can be understood as an exchange of information.
Moreover, Zhang absorbed a range of information gathered during her stay in the city, conveying the information that she had acquired to exhibition-goers though recordings, editing and collages, among others.
One can visit the free-admission exhibitions daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. More details can be found on Ox Warehouse’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
These photos taken yesterday showcase works in the exhibition “2+0/1+1 Artist-in-Residence Program: Borrowed Land part 1/ Doppelgangers: A Bill Aitchison Solo Project” at the Ox Warehouse building.
These photos show artist Elin Zhang Shuxian’s works for her exhibition “2+0/1+1 Artist-in-Residence Program: Tea Room” at the Ox Warehouse building. -Photos: Rui Pastorin
