// BLURB //
Who’s your mama? Mine is the long train of history that has culminated in the new god Science. She’s gentle but firm and that’s exactly the sort of structure I need to succeed. Yummy yummy. She taught me something recently: a theory of verses. The multiverse theory confirms that we live in a universe that is concrete, factually historical, and follows the laws of nature. But also that there are a potentially infinite number of concrete and factually historical universes (or “alterverses”) that exists separate from ours. In other words, there are an infinite number of Shanghais where the old men who walk in the wee hours choose to wear suits instead of pajamas for their morning workout. Shanghais where construction starts at 8:00am instead of 6. Where the Bund is mirrored onto opposite sides of the river. Where the Moganshan graffiti wall stretches for kilometers and is always covered in aerosol love. I dream about those worlds and what they’re like, all stacked against each other like books on a shelf. I wonder if the people there think about what life here is like, and how strange the detached familiarity of this all would be to them. Do you think they would get contemporary art?
Who’s your mama? Mine is the long train of history that has culminated in the new god Science. She’s gentle but firm and that’s exactly the sort of structure I need to succeed. Yummy yummy. She taught me something recently: a theory of verses. The multiverse theory confirms that we live in a universe that is concrete, factually historical, and follows the laws of nature. But also that there are a potentially infinite number of concrete and factually historical universes (or “alterverses”) that exists separate from ours. In other words, there are an infinite number of Shanghais where the old men who walk in the wee hours choose to wear suits instead of pajamas for their morning workout. Shanghais where construction starts at 8:00am instead of 6. Where the Bund is mirrored onto opposite sides of the river. Where the Moganshan graffiti wall stretches for kilometers and is always covered in aerosol love. I dream about those worlds and what they’re like, all stacked against each other like books on a shelf. I wonder if the people there think about what life here is like, and how strange the detached familiarity of this all would be to them. Do you think they would get contemporary art?
// EDITION, MEDIA, SIZE & WEIGHT //
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2019
Chinese ink and acrylic painting on canvas, teakwood frame
176(W)×141(H)×6.2(D) cm // 14.2 kg (framed)
// EXPOSURE //
• “Perimeters, Edges, and Walls” at island6 Shanghai Main Space
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2019
Chinese ink and acrylic painting on canvas, teakwood frame
176(W)×141(H)×6.2(D) cm // 14.2 kg (framed)
// EXPOSURE //
• “Perimeters, Edges, and Walls” at island6 Shanghai Main Space
// CREDITS //
Owen 欧文 (painting) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Carlin Reinig (blurb)
Owen 欧文 (painting) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Carlin Reinig (blurb)