Long March Space is presenting “Protagonist” – a solo show of Hu Xiangqian as a debut of this young artist at Long March Space. Hu’s three-part performance art show is presented on video to explain the artist’s experiment with a goal of “understanding the way of thinking by means of art”.

“Protagonist” features the works of Hu Xiangqian that are free of coaching or glamorizing. They are not supposed to please the viewers with deliberate plotting or flawless acting. Instead, the stories are rendered in such a way as full of uncertainties, possibilities and expectations. With linear plot and entertainment put aside, Hu’s performance tends to embrace a plain form of linear thinking without getting trapped in a predefined procedure. In The labor song I night, a binary opposition emerges between the characters Hu has designed and the meaning of such presentation he is trying to explore. The melodies sung by the leading actress and the watchwords read by the leading actor alternate to generate a series of metaphors and metonymies. Acting out artist is silent performance. Hu is the only performer. Different types of cinematic language are used to look closely into subculture in an unhurried manner.

Video Still 01 from The Labor Song I Night, 2012;
7 min 12 sec, Artist: Hu Xiangqian; Courtesy of Long March Space

Video Still 02 from The Labor Song I Night, 2012;
7 min 12 sec, Artist: Hu Xiangqian; Courtesy of Long March Space

Video Still from Acting out Artist, 2012;
14 min 15 sec, Artist: Hu Xiangqian; Courtesy of Long March Space

Video Still from Look Look Look, 2012;
4 min 40 sec, Artist: Hu Xiangqian; Courtesy of Long March Space

Hu defines his acting role as “probably an important way of being an onlooker to myself, as if I had another pair of eyes looking on me all the time from way above. It’s like being watched by another person – a viewer. But I don’t care. I do what I want on the stage of reality. ”

In “Protagonist”, all work are presented to the audience in the most honest and realistic way. Hu’s behavior is completely driven by the instinctive desire. That’s the basic concept of Hu’s performance: the hidden reality can be found only by a straightforward experience.

Hu Xiangqian (b. 1983, Guangdong) graduated from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2007. He currently lives and works in Beijing.

Hu Xiangqian's artistic practice tends toward performance and video inspired by current events and his own surroundings. With a keen eye for the absurd, he skillfully highlights the contrasts in our society and amplifies minor incidents into major social signifiers. One of his best-known video works, Blue Flags Everywhere, documents a humorous but earnest attempt to run for mayor of his hometown at the age of 21. In Sun, Hu Xiangqian tries to tan himself the same shade as two of his close African friends, while Drift with the Tide is a poignant work about the artist leaving university by literally rowing out to sea.

About the Exhibition

Dates: Jul 1, 2012--Aug 12, 2012

Venue: Long March Space

Address: 4 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, P.R. China

Tel: +86 (0)10 5978 9768

Fax: +86 (0)10 5978 9764

Courtesy of Long March Space.