Wudaoying Hutong residents create art through stories

Wudaoying residents discussing their art exhibition/Photo by Yang Tingting

By Wang Yu

Wudaoying Hutong shop owners and residents were locked into their stores and homes at certain hours from Thursday to Sunday last week. Their task: to become part of an art exhibition titled “The image is no more.”

The performance, spearheaded by the Swedish artist’s group Good TV, involved hutong residents and businesspeople talking about images drawn from their memories, dreams and visions. Unlike traditional art exhibitions, this one featured images that could not be seen, only heard.

“We came up with this idea because we wanted to ‘see’ the images inside people’s minds. This type of art is more meaningful than traditional photos or videos,” Michele Masucci, a member of Good TV who conceptualized the exhibition together with co-member Loulou, said at the launch ceremony on Guozijian last Thursday evening. 

“One of the shop owners told me about a red wall, describing it in detail and saying how beautiful it is,” Loulou later said. “She actually hasn’t seen the wall, only heard of it from a friend. But the wall in her mind is very real to her.”

During the four-day exhibition, staged in cooperation with Sweden’s Lindkoping University, some audience members could not understand the concept of a “vocal” art exhibition, and asked organizers to clarify their ideas.

It was Masucci and Loulou’s second such exhibition since their 2009 debut in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city. The artists began collaborating in photography and video six years ago.
 
Yang Tingting, the exhibition’s China project manager, said the group chose Wudaoying Hutong because it has retained its original appearance and atmosphere, unlike Nanluogu Xiang, which is heavily developed and commercialized.

“No matter how many people understand the meaning of the exhibition, I’m very glad for the opportunity to make new friends,” said Yang, who spent a month convincing shop owners and residents to participate, and later filmed their stories for an upcoming documentary.

There were 10 participants from Wudaoying: painter Zhang Feng; poet and handicraft designer Qilin; Yuanwei, who owns High Art; Nancy Wu, owner of Zig Zag; Phoebe from Baiding House; drummer Guanzheng; Wan, a long-time resident from Greece; Liu Chang, owner of Sativa; Xiangzi from the charity shop Brand Nü; and Li Yang, owner of the Spanish restaurant Saffron.

The exhibition will be staged next in Shenzhen and then move overseas to Kiev, the Ukraine.