24'45"
porcelain urine director, sound, inserted hotel toiletries
installation in conjunction with Also Space exhibition
Andingmen Hotel; Beijing, December 2009
When I returned to Beijing after approximately one month away, I played the game, as always, of walking around the neighbourhood to see which places have disappeared in my absence, which new businesses or grand ambitions have moved in to replace the failing or derelict, a sort of remapping one’s estrangement within the city. I walked from Xiaojingchang hutong to the northern end of Andingmen Nei, and with hands in pockets passed by a candy bar vendor (new), a book-laden cart full of pirated publications on technology/software (old), and a cardboard box stand topped with rows of socks (old). I walked into the Andingmen Hotel, where I end up sleeping for several nights, a new tourist in a now familiar city. there was a small exhibition and series of events happening in two of the rooms of the hotel, and it became a quiet but social place to welcome myself back into a place of growing certainty; this was a place delicately juxtaposed with all the awkwardness and adamance that one can have about one’s sense of place in the world. it was called “Also Space”. during these few days, there was a certain amount of presence, self-consciously experienced and toyed with, a space and socius to make one acutely aware of all the small details of showing and not knowing.
Each morning I would wake from the hardish hotel bed in room 221, happy for warmth but tired for tiredness, enter the bathroom and begin to rearrange the selection of hotel offerings, as are commonly found in many temporary lodgings: two plastic wrapped soaps——packaged again in a printed cardboard box——three toothbrushes, two plastic combs with the hotel name in gold-coloured print. I took away one of the toothbrushes and replaced it with a toothbrush in similar packaging from another hotel. I added a plastic wrapped disposable razor labeled, “one to one”, not knowing which hotel I may have taken it from. another time and another space. a sewing kit from yet another hotel, travel-sized toothpaste from Germany, travel-sized moisturizing lotion from Hong Kong. Over the course of these few days, some of the items disappeared or were refilled by the service personnel, the blue towels were replenished with white ones. I thought about the possibility of being absolutely present in a place which one can deem home and not home at the same time. When the maid did not make the bed, I did it for her. But I left one of my hairs on the pillowcase along with a dried mandarin peel, and I wondered if any of our guests would notice and ask, “Is this an artwork, too?” It’s a funny game to play, to observe everything in an unexpected place as possibly “art”. perhaps not so different from a game of trying to notice all the places that have disappeared or been born in one’s absence.
About 女泉 Nv Quan
Nv Quan is not about convenience. Everything has been done before us, everything as measure of progress, like yeah, it's taken a long time to come to now. Nv Quan is no Duchampian overturn, no Lady Gaga feeding frenzy, nor even a "real free true lady artist" as worthy of the great Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. No, Nv Quan is just a delicate, hand-held little thing. We're lovely in tiles, we're lovely in the great outdoors, we're taking a piss.
“女泉”的诞生其实并不是为了“便利”。前人的努力推动了历史的进步，今天的成绩也是经历了很长的时间才达到( 现在 )。 “女泉”不是杜尚式的颠覆，也不是Lady Gaga式的疯狂搞笑，更不是前卫艺术家Baroness Elsa那样的“真正解放的女性艺术家”式的作品。“女泉”，只是一个小巧精致的手持漏斗。在洗手间也好，在户外也 罢，我们都可以撒尿！
Each morning I would wake from the hardish hotel bed in room 221, happy for warmth but tired for tiredness, enter the bathroom and begin to rearrange the selection of hotel offerings, as are commonly found in many temporary lodgings: two plastic wrapped soaps——packaged again in a printed cardboard box——three toothbrushes, two plastic combs with the hotel name in gold-coloured print. I took away one of the toothbrushes and replaced it with a toothbrush in similar packaging from another hotel. I added a plastic wrapped disposable razor labeled, “one to one”, not knowing which hotel I may have taken it from. another time and another space. a sewing kit from yet another hotel, travel-sized toothpaste from Germany, travel-sized moisturizing lotion from Hong Kong. Over the course of these few days, some of the items disappeared or were refilled by the service personnel, the blue towels were replenished with white ones. I thought about the possibility of being absolutely present in a place which one can deem home and not home at the same time. When the maid did not make the bed, I did it for her. But I left one of my hairs on the pillowcase along with a dried mandarin peel, and I wondered if any of our guests would notice and ask, “Is this an artwork, too?” It’s a funny game to play, to observe everything in an unexpected place as possibly “art”. perhaps not so different from a game of trying to notice all the places that have disappeared or been born in one’s absence.
About 女泉 Nv Quan
Nv Quan is not about convenience. Everything has been done before us, everything as measure of progress, like yeah, it's taken a long time to come to now. Nv Quan is no Duchampian overturn, no Lady Gaga feeding frenzy, nor even a "real free true lady artist" as worthy of the great Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. No, Nv Quan is just a delicate, hand-held little thing. We're lovely in tiles, we're lovely in the great outdoors, we're taking a piss.
“女泉”的诞生其实并不是为了“便利”。前人的努力推动了历史的进步，今天的成绩也是经历了很长的时间才达到( 现在 )。 “女泉”不是杜尚式的颠覆，也不是Lady Gaga式的疯狂搞笑，更不是前卫艺术家Baroness Elsa那样的“真正解放的女性艺术家”式的作品。“女泉”，只是一个小巧精致的手持漏斗。在洗手间也好，在户外也 罢，我们都可以撒尿！
