2023年7月1日 - 8月25日 / July 1 – Aug 25, 2023
西宁当代 & 风马ArtStore，成都 / Xining Contemporary Art Space & FENGMA Art Store, Chengdu
项目自述 / Artist Statement
朋友在成都开设了一间关注自出版实践的街头空间，没想第一个项目中途就遇到了文化执法机构的特殊关照，除了出版物被罚没，当事的自出版人也遇到了麻烦。空间更被明令不得再展示和经营书籍，但可以售卖工艺品和文艺周边产品。为此，我想用我的方式支持朋友的理念，但同时演绎在这个现状中的生产关系。
我的办法是挪用自己过去创作的图像和标题为设计素材，并遵循畅销书的逻辑，为它们匹配了一系列知名作者、名人名言和虚构的出版社等基础信息，炮制并陈列出一个仅有封面设计的概念书店。
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My friends launched an independent space in Chengdu dedicated to self-publishing. Shortly after its opening, however, its inaugural project drew ‘special attention’ from cultural law enforcement: publications were confiscated, fines were issued, and the publisher involved faced further complications. The space was formally prohibited from exhibiting or circulating books, though it remained permitted to sell crafts and merchandise.
In response, I sought to support my friend’s vision while performing the relations of production inherent in this reality. By appropriating images and titles from my own archive, I adopted the marketing logic of bestsellers—pairing my work with renowned authors, celebrity blurbs, and fictional publishing houses. The result is a 'concept bookstore' of facades: a self-service installation that mimics the physical presence of books but consists entirely of cover designs.
新闻稿 / Press Release
西宁当代此次邀请艺术家刘辛夷在成都风马ArtStore呈现其个人项目《真心書局》，这也是继2018 年《信号》项目后双方的第二次合作。
刘辛夷以在地的工作方式在成都玉林片区短居考察，最终基于风马在既往的实践语境，选择将空间重置为一家“書局”。其中的陈列皆以装饰書的形态嵌入现场，本地观众可以在一个紧凑的自助空间内纵览艺术家过往的创作和实践。
在运用作品图像作为封面背景外，艺术家对作品的命名将成为“書名”同步展现。受益于该项目的需要，艺术家还有机会重估过往工作中的线索与疫情后世界之间的潜在触点，因而盛意邀约了一大批相关人士和单位作为“作者”和“译者”参与进来。局中的名人名句更是以格言墙的方式登陆风马，据说艺术家还做了少许引导。
至于标题中的“真心”二字，刘辛夷阐明他希望突显的乃是一种外部视角。正值书店、书展等面向青年的文化消费方兴未艾之际，他留意到仍有少数专注于艺术出版的机构怀有的怒放的热忱和长远的使命。不过我方猜测，另一种可能是艺术家在成都期间流连于遍布街头的真心包子而情寄其名。
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Xining Contemporary is please to announce that artist Liu Xinyi is presenting his solo project "Wholehearted Books" at the FENGMA Art Store in Chengdu, marking our second collaboration following the "Signal" project in 2018.
Before the exhibition, Liu Xinyi conducted a short-term residency in the Yulin area of Chengdu. By tracing the context of FENGMA's previous practice, the artist decided to restore the space into a “press portal." However, the exhibition space is filled with unreadable decorative books, but still allowing local audiences to have a comprehensive overview of the artist's past artworks and practices within a compact self-service space.
In addition to using artwork images as cover backgrounds, the titles of the works will be presented synchronously as "book titles” for the first time. Due to the needs of this project, the artist had the opportunity to reevaluate the threads of his previous works and their potential connections with the post-pandemic world. Consequently, he cordially invited a large group of relevant individuals and organizations to participate as "authors" and "translators." The notable quotes from the distinguished figures are displayed on a wall of maxims in the bookstore, and it is said that the artist himself also provided minor contribution.
As for the term "wholehearted" in the project name, Liu Xinyi clarified that he intends to highlight an external perspective. At a time when cultural consumption, such as bookstores and book fairs targeting young people, is thriving in China, he noticed that there are still a handful institutions focusing on art publishing that possess furious enthusiasm and long- term missions. However, it is speculated that another possibility is that the artist, during his stay in Chengdu, developed an obsession for the "wholehearted steamed bun" found on every streets and thus incorporated its name with sentimental attachment.
图片致谢西宁当代 & 风马 ArtStore
Image courtesy of Xining Contemporary Art Space & FENGMA Art Store
