A Welcome Crisis
MoCCA’s latest exhibition Crisis…What Crisis? opened on June 27 to an eye-pleasing variety of personae: from faithful followers of the six artists on hand to the surprise presence of a few well-known actors as well as photo-snapping media, the crowd was a suitable reflection of the diversity of concept and medium in the exhibition itself.
Upon entering the gallery, the strangely captivating eeriness of the pieces displayed was immediately tangible. Agent provocateur and rising conceptualist Deng Zhen, as accompaniment to his installation Which one am I?, had arranged a silent performance of six clones, all clad in blue hooded sweatshirts despite the sweltering late June heat. Needless to say, guests were baffled, intrigued, and ultimately delighted.
Artist Deng Zhen’s doppelgängers
Further into the space, the hum and drone of Ji Huai’s epic living machine Organism no. 1 was tuned fittingly well to the hum and drone of lively conversation and the clinks of people’s icy cocktails of Russian vodka and ruby red grapefruit: libations of taste and sound to complement the afternoon’s visual sensations.
Experimentation and appreciation
Yet as distracting as the drinks were, the installations on hand were indeed the centerpiece of attention: rarely is it that a gallery opening will see guests spending more time observing the pieces than chatting amongst themselves, yet such was the case at this coming-out party for these half-dozen emerging minds. For the first time in a long time, “crisis” was precisely what the public wanted.