1/1 – Caochangdi

C-Space
Red No.1 – C1 & C2, Caochangdi, Beijing, China
June 30th – August 26th 2012

Curated by Nora Jaccaud – Directed by Melle Hendrikse

The 1/1 project aims to bring contemporary art to the street and the street into the gallery. Bringing art to unexpected places has been the goal of this French artist since he started painting abstract geometric figures in the street back in 1999. At the entrance of Caochangdi there is a sign that reads “Caochangdi Art Village”. However, when Eltono came for the first time, he was surprised to find an almost tangible frontier dividing the village and the galleries. After spending a few days in Caochangdi it became clear to him that the people who come to visit the galleries often miss the village, and very few villagers go and visit the art galleries. During his one month residency in Caochangdi, Eltono decided to use his paintings to create a link between these two worlds. To begin, he mapped out the village including all of the tiny streets and alleyways, noting down all the doors he found interesting or inspiring. Entering into conversation with the villagers he explained the goal of his project and asked permission to paint their doors – this served as the first link between the artist and the village. Over the next several weeks, he spent time connecting with residents and painting, creating a path throughout the neighborhood filled with mysterious abstract images.

A selection of life size photographs, the result of Eltono’s residency, were on exhibit in C-space gallery until the end of August, 2012. The rest of the doors can still be viewed by wandering the streets of Caochangdi and following the map produced by the artist (downloadable here).

The aim of this project is to create an exchange between two groups: the art community and the local residents. Those who regularly visit art galleries are invited to have a walk in the village and enjoy the paintings in their original locations, while the residents are invited to enter the art gallery and see photographs of their doors in a new and unfamiliar context. The “1/1” title refers to the life size printed photographs of the doors as well as the one to one relationship that exists between the exhibition space and the street – for Eltono these two spaces are equally valid when it comes to displaying art. The life size photographs create the illusion of real doors and build a virtual passageway connecting the street and the gallery. Using street art as his medium, the 1/1 project by Eltono hopes to provide a platform where art is accessible to everyone.

The life-size door photographs are available for purchase through the gallery. Each photo is unique and numbered 1/1. The pictures were taken with a 6×7 medium format argentic camera and printed with giclée technique on high quality photographic paper.

埃尔多诺-1/1计划-草场地
2012年6月30日至8月26日
艺术家将出席开幕式
开幕时间:2012年6月30日星期六下午4时至6时

埃尔多诺的1/1计划,旨在将当代艺术带上街头,而将街道带入画廊。自这位法国艺术家1999年开始在街头绘制抽象几何图案以来,他的目标始终是将艺术带到出人意料的现场。
草场地村的入口,有一块写着“草场地艺术村”的招牌。埃尔多诺第一次来这里的时候,他非常吃惊地发现了一个几乎看得见摸得着的界限,将村子与画廊分割开 来。在草场地度过几天之后,对他来说非常明显,来参观画廊的人往往忽略了村子,而且很少有村民来参观艺术画廊。在草场地居住的第一个月,埃尔多诺便决定用 自己的画来营造这两个世界之间的某种联系。
一开始,他在地图上标出了整个村子,包括小街道和胡同,记下了他觉得有趣或者有灵感的所有门洞。他开始与村民交谈,解释了自己这个计划的目的,请求得到准 许,在他们的门上画画——这成为艺术家与村民之间的首次联系。接下来的几个星期,他花时间建立居民与绘画之间的联系,在整个村落里营造了一条路径,充满了 神秘的抽象图案。
作为埃尔多诺居住项目的成果,精选出的与实物等大的照片将在C空间画廊展出,展至2012年8月底。在草场地村的街道上漫步时,按照艺术家制作的地图,可以看到其余的大门。
该计划的目的,是要营造出两个群体之间的交流:艺术群体与当地居民。定期参观画廊的人,应邀在村中漫步,在原来的地点欣赏画作,而居民则应邀进入画廊,在一个新的、不熟悉的语境之下观看他们的大门的照片。
“1/1”这个标题,指的是按照实物大小制作的大门照片,以及在展览空间和街道之间存在的一对一的关系——对于埃尔多诺而言,在展示艺术的时候,这两个空 间同样是有效的。实物大小的照片营造了真实的大门的幻象,构建起连接街道与画廊的虚拟通道。埃尔多诺利用街头艺术作为自己的媒介,1/1计划旨在提供任何 人都能接触艺术的平台。

www.c-spacebeijing.com

Video:

Process Pictures:

Photographs printing and installation:

Opening pictures:

Photos by Sierra and Eltono.
Thanks Melle, Nora, Wangfan, Lina, Cindy, Liugang, Angela & Aitor, Sierra, Alonso, Jacob, Elisa and of course: Xinkai, Haizi, Maomao, Caochandi Number 1 and all the residents of Caochangdi.