I have been spending most of the last day or two at home learning the Chinese text (in pinyin) and predictably enough it takes about 5 times longer to learn something in Chinese rather than something in English. Still, it does actually stick more or less which is encouraging. I have to have this ready for the show in Beijing on Thursday and simply don’t have time to make it perfect and polished so this will be more of an experiment than a finished performance. I have not even seriously tried integrating the many actions yet or the translation pauses. I think there will be a lot discover in the actual doing of the performance!
So the KLM/Air France plot thickens! I forgot to mention that when I was in Guangzhou last week I met a man working for KLM at a drinks reception in the Dutch consulate. He was quite an affable sort of guy and I mentioned my ongoing battle with KLM/AF over the flight here. He thought I probably would get my money back but it was not certain. I recently wrote to him and explained the situation in a friendly sort of way that I will basically be a pain in the ass unless and until I get my refund. He offered to now take up the matter and forward my woes onto some other people so fingers crossed there will be some movement here.
I have been neglecting the blog slightly as I was away on a trip to Shenzhen and Guangzhou with the other CEAC artists and recently returned. It is a bit hard to understand how the spaces function for me as they are supported in a different way, it seems they are supported by one of two sources: public money or property developers. The latter is something I am completely unused to, in the UK I don’t see anything like that at all. Barrett Homes funding a contemporary Art Museum? Never. What was even more surprising is that they were probably the places more relevant for my work to be presented in, at least that was the impression I got but like always, I may have got the wrong end of the stick so we’ll see what comes of these contacts. One way or another it was encouraging to see genuine contemporary art spaces are getting established and are thinking ambitiously.
Now I am very busy putting the performance together. I have the sense of not having enough time.
I managed to get the video online on Youku. Here is the link – enjoy.
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQ3NDcwNTA4.html
I made a video on the beach on Sunday that will go online soon. It is a sort of teaser for the for the performance as in this I also speak in Chinese and have myself subtitled.
Today I have been working on actions and playing around with packaging tape. Simple but effective!
