With my exhibition, workshop and lecture complete, I’m just back from a much needed few days break lazing by the beach in Hainan off the south coast of China. I fly out of Chongqing tomorrow evening arriving in Gatwick at some ridiculously early hour the following morning.
The exhibition went well, although I’m not sure I can say the same about the babbling impromptu interview I gave to a media crew that turned up towards the end of it. I have no idea where it will be broadcast and given my performance am not inclined to seek it out. I’m still trying to edit down the hundreds of photos of the works. I think I have at least a few that edited together give a sense of both the students’ and my own performances. I’m also trying to workout which of my pieces I can manage to take back and how best to fit them into my luggage – I’m very reluctant to part with my Lazlo Biro stool, even if it means leaving a few clothes behind.
Overall the residency has been a brilliant and fascinating experience. It’s really helped to develop areas of my practice and move on my exploration of gestures in writing and drawing, in both intended and unexpected ways. The workshop at the university didn’t quite go as planned, but I learnt a lot from it and know that it will feed into my research in some way. At the moment though I think it’s all too close to properly reflect on. Maybe when I get back to London I will make more sense of it all.
There’s just time for one last dinner of spicy barbecue skewers and a breakfast of dumplings then it’s goodbye Chongqing. Given the phenomenal speed of construction here, I imagine that even if I do visit again this will not be the same city I am in today.
