Please join us this Saturday March 1st 6pm in IFP studio for the screening of Sayizheng II – Rundeli Market, followed by a discussion with the participating artists around the topic of momentary happenings in living space.
A one-day group exhibition took place at the biggest open-air market within Beijing’s second-ring on August 11, 2013, one of the hottest sauna days last summer. Pressed down by the dense grey sky, heat penetrates melting our brains into glue then evaporate through our pores. In a state of trance, 16 artists slip into the site at 16 different timeslots and 16 different spots. The works emerge from various corners and sections including grains & oil, fruits & vegetables, meat & seafood, random goods, cooked goods and a small supermarket, between 9am-9pm and interrupted by an apocalyptic thunderstorm in the late afternoon. Scattered small acts stir people to gather, to whisper and shout, to point and laugh, or just to stand still and watch, then soon enough to be washed back into the flow of the crowd.
Special thanks to filmmakers Derrick Wang and Zhou Yiran for capturing a glimpse of this market seizure. After the documentary, we will have an open talk with “patients” from two previous Sayizheng events, regarding the artist’s challenges to enter a real space, the “strolling” strategy in response to China’s hypersensitive public domain, the absurdity of dream scenarios placed in an everyday context, and the value of a work when it falls out from the art market and into a food market.
Sayizheng: a dream, a sleepwalk, a sudden cry. Catch it before opening your eyes.
sayizheng.weebly.com