MEMORY GOES AS FAR AS THIS MORNING

Beginning September 23rd, 2016, Chengdu MOCA is pleased to present the exhibition ‘Memory goes as far as this morning’, with two established artists of different backgrounds: Gideon Rubin (Israel / UK) and Shu Qun (China).

The title of this exhibition, quoted from a poem by the noted Chinese poet Bei Dao, alludes to the disposable nature of 'news': The nation has lost its memory / Memory goes as far as this morning. Memory and history are universal themes, explored by artists throughout time. In this exhibition in Chengdu, both artists filter history and memories, each from his own unique perspective, while the audience is invited to revisit their own past experiences. The convergence of memory and history are of major interest and concern to Rubin, their nature and the thin line between the personal and the general constituting keys to his narrative.

The curatorial task in “Memory goes as far as this morning” has been to bring the two artists with their contrasting backgrounds into dialogue on this particular subject, prompting the audience to relate to themes like ‘taboo’, ‘erasure’ and ‘disappearance’, through the artists’ portraiture and their use of mass-media source material.

The works in this exhibition seem to drag the past into the present-time, securing imagery from memories and from history while reinterpreting and translating it. A maze of portraits and facial expressions in the case of Shu, and the erasure of facial features in the case of Rubin, make up a unique visual trove reflecting personal memories, identities and cultural histories.Off-base and in dialogue with Shu Qun who is working on home territory, the museum show in Chengdu presents for Rubin a unique opportunity to engage with a new audience in China, and this, particularly as both artists have shared common source material - using Hua Bao (a period Chinese picture magazine), in Rubin’s case in response to his exposure to Chinese culture and history during a two-month residency in Shenzhen in 2014.

Sharing common source material but confronting issues from different points of view, the resulting dialogue should prompt the audience to question not only its relationship to popular imagery, but also encourage them to revisit personal memories and histories, bringing up questions about the nature of memory, what are we actually looking back at, and how do memories affect our identity and consequently contemporary imagery.

As to Shu Qun's, the exhibition will provide an opportunity for dialogue between his investigation into themes of utopia and the pitfalls of Chinese modernization (as in hisProletariat Series) and Rubin's work characterized by vacant faces.

About the Exhibition

“Memory goes as far as this morning” is curated by Guo Xiaohui who is a London based curator and art critic. This exhibition is realized with the generous support and sponsorship of Contemporary Art Institute of Southwest Jiaotong University, Artis Grant Program (www.artiscontemporary.org); Outset Israel (www.outset.org.uk/Israel/) and Galerie Karsten Greve, St Moritz (www.galerie-karsten-greve.com/en ). A publication in Chinese and English with both artists’ work will accompany the exhibition. Chengdu MOCA has organized a series of talks and panel discussions examining the artists’ respective countries’ cultural consumption and history of mass-media. Bei Dao, the two times Nobel prize-nominated Chinese poet, is confirmed to attend the opening.

About the Artists

Gideon Rubin (b.1973) is an Israeli artist based in London. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and his MFA from Slade School of Art in London. He has had numerous international solo exhibitions, the most recent include 'Memory goes as far as this Morning' at Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art Israel / SanJose ICA (2015/16), 'Questions of Forgiveness' at Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris (2016), 'Delivering Newspapers' at ROKEBY, London; ‘Blue House’ Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv (2015), 'On the Road' at Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco (2014). Selected group exhibitions include 'Nourish' at Napa Valley Museum, Yountville CA; 'Disturbing Innocence' at Flag Art Foundation, New York; 'Daily Memories' at Klosterhaus in Magdeburg, Germany (2014); 'To Have a Voice' at the Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow, Scotland; 'Kunstlerkinder' at Kunsthalle Emden, Germany (2012); 'Lines Made By Walking' at Haifa Museum of Art, Israel; 'Facelook' at Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel (2011); Beijing Biennale at the National Art Museum, China (2009) and 'Family Traces' at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gideon Rubin received the 'Shifting Foundation' grant in 2014 and Outset residency program, Tel Aviv (2013).He is represented by Galerie Karsten Greve Paris, Cologne, St Moritz; ROKEBY, London; Hosfelt Gallery, San Franscisco and Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv.

About the Curator

Guo Xiaohui is a London-based curator and writer. Born in Xinjiang China. Guo Xiaohui has an MA in Art and Politics and a second MA in Culture Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2013 and 2014. Guo has worked as an independent curator, art critic and she is currently a contributing writer for Sanlian Life Week (China). As an independent curator, Xiaohui Guo has curated exhibitions and projects which include:Traces-International video collection of Isabelle and Jean-Conrad Lemaitre (2016, Beijing Mingsheng Art museum, China); Game of codes: Silia Ka Tung & Ma Li two person show (2016, Migrant Bird Space, Berlin, Germany); Place of Conflict: An art residency project (2016-2017, Israel, China); Cheng Ran: Traces of Traces(2017, Israel).