The day of the exhibition
The work I am exhibiting is constructed from the artefacts of my endeavour – the bottles of water and bags of sand I have gathered during the residency. I have three pieces of work. The first is water taken from two sources, the Jialing River and the Yangtze River, contained in drinking water bottles. I don’t feel entirely satisfied with this work, it is not a risk or a challenge; it’s the straightforward presentation of artifacts as work, perhaps a document of the activity that took place over a short period of time. I returned to the Jialing today with empty bottles to be filled, I found the the area fenced off undergoing re-development work.
The second work is a construction I made to collect rainwater. Previously it stood outside waiting for rain, now it stands redundant inside the gallery. The third work has a different sort of energy, the artefacts have become the building blocks for a sculpture. It feels like the most complete work I have made during the residency. My endeavour continues, tomorrow I will collect more water, bring it to the gallery and add it to the exhibition.
Suddenly the time seems all too short, in less than 2 days I will be leaving for the UK.
These are my immediate thoughts following the exhibition opening.
6th December
Nina Chua
