Invisible Direction by Chen I-Chun and Helin Luo [2016]
[03.09.16 — 30.09.16]
Grey Projects is proud to present Invisible Direction, an exhibition by artists-in-residence Chen I-Chun and Helin Luo, part of a residency exchange between Waley Art in Taipei 水谷藝術 and Grey Projects.
The presentation involves a sequence of invisible ink markings within the Grey Projects space but extending into the surrounding neighbourhood, markings that only reveal themselves under sufficient UV light. The artists are interested in the regulations of bodies and habitations, in graffiti as wayfinding, and in audience participation as analogy for decision-making in a time of late capitalism.
The collaborative artists locate Singapore and Taipei, the two cities-in-exchange, within the globalised 'invisible hand' circulation of late capitalism. These unseen forces manifest for the artists most urgently in phenomena ranging from the shift of speculative capital to developing countries, to transnational pollution and climate issues, to the diasporic migrations of the working classes in the territories between these two cities.
Despite the agency of quietly law-biding, labouring individuals in their pursuit of 'a better life', among whom the artists count themselves, the artists find themselves outflanked by dire choices and overwhelmed by negative externalities. With this presentation, the artists draw a direct analogy between the navigation of Singapore's urbanity and the navigation of these choices and externalities. Chen and Luo invite the audience to play, to navigate space marked by invisible directions, to trust in the wayfinding of ambiguous symbolisations.
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Trained in computer programming and kinetic machinery, curator Helin Luo is also an interactive artist and recipient of several Interactive Art awards. He received his MFA in 2010 from the Graduate School of Arts & Technology, Taipei National University of the Arts, and is currently a PhD candidate at the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National Taiwan University.
Artist Chen I-Chun’s practice predominantly involves interactive and multi-media art, painting, and experimental animation/video. Her works often focus on folk stories and social issues existing in industrious and marginalised areas, as well as amongst the lower-middle class. She has exhibited in numerous international art exhibitions and festivals in Taiwan, India, Brazil, Japan, China, Israel, South Korea, Singapore, Macao, USA, Austria, Germany, Russia, and a few others. Her video works were shown at Art Basel Miami in 2015, and more recently at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2016. Currently pursuing a PhD at the Department of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts, Chen also received her MFA there in 2010.
As a pair, Chen and Luo have been developing interactive new media projects together.