Hu Wei：The Screen — Unfinale
Long Space presents the works of the artist Hu Wei in the second edition of "Stairwell Video Project." Three works are played on the TV screens in the stairwell and small room: Hard Heart, The World of the Hard and the Soft and Long Time between Sunsets and Underground Waves. Two other works, A Proposal for Public Assembly / Encounter and The Rumbling, will be projected on the sharing night, where the artist will also be present to engage with the audience in a discussion. The project is titled The Screen — Unfinale.
Screen "Juicer"
Hu Wei’s video works consist of multiple elements: speech and text, sound and archives, images and objects—these elements support each other in his works. For this exhibition, Hu Wei abandons his expertise in video space installations and accepts the condition of showing the works on a single screen. At a group exhibition at PS1 in New York, Matthew Barney’s The Cremaster Cycle, one of his iconic works, was shown on a 14-inch TV screen. The grandeur of the video piece was ruthlessly drained, and its artistic value diminished to almost nothing. However, Hu Wei's works in Long Space do not face this issue. “The Screen” format will undoubtedly highlight Hu Wei's identity as a writer and encourage the audience to listen and read his visuals.
Walking with Nothing
In the 1960s, Richard Long began walking and brought back stones from the wild to display in galleries. In 2014, Hu Wei and a foreign friend, with an unusual eye for detail, managed to find a desolate land through Google Maps in the hazy air of Beijing. They traversed the urban and rural areas of the city on foot. Their walking in the video is neither spectacular nor exciting, even dull at times. But upon reaching their destination, the real performance begins. Faced with a second-hand natural environment—a quarry filled with entropy—they create makeshift "instruments" on-site and make harsh noises while overlooking the debris site. The noise complements the shocking scene, amplifying the entropy or perhaps counteracting it. With no live audience, the performance becomes the catalyst for the noise's reverberation through the valley, passing through the video to an expanding audience in the future. The result of their walk was nothing—this is their achievement.
Who is the Island Owner?
The modern island owner is a strange existence. He/she does not necessarily live on the island but can reside anywhere in the world, even in prison, like the infamous Jeffrey Epstein. In Hu Wei's work The Rumbling, the island owner could be the British Hong Kong government. In another piece, Long Time between Sunsets and Underground Waves, the island owner is an invisible figure mentioned only by the local narrator. In this work, Hu Wei imagines a spirit on the island who takes the forms of fish, trees, and water. Like the island owner, she understands everything that happens on the island and narrates the island's past and present in the local language. The narrative, woven with the narrator’s voice, creates a quiet scene. As the writer of these two pieces, Hu Wei is the island owner of his visual works and shares the fruits of his island with the audiences.
Everyone Walking is a Comrade
The past was always beautiful and leisurely, even struggles were closely tied with grand passions. The square is the container for these two opposing emotions. The setting in Hu Wei’s A Proposal for Public Assembly / Encounter is ambiguous, even reversed, but the event feels incredibly close, the atmosphere somewhat familiar. Comrades are a species born out of similar social systems, connected and gathered together. To the square they go, to become better people beneath statues of great leaders; at the monument, they march together with a unified posture, heading toward the future, the linear utopia. The continuous, rapid, one-directional movement is unscientific, and the counterforce pushes them back to the square, knocking down the idols and obelisks. When it's time to stop and catch a breath, it's time to go for food. After eating and drinking, they walk in the square—because they are all comrades.
The Ultimate Badass Finale
In Hu Wei's The World of the Hard and the Soft, Mr. Li, the incredible boss, leads 6,400 employees and spends 13 million euros to allow his employees to travel freely in France. They create the world’s longest human sentence on the streets to promote the greatness of their company. This grand feat occurred in 2015 and may have been inspired by extraordinary artistic energy and influence. Going back to 2007, the artist Weiwei funded and led 1,000 volunteers to Kassel, Germany, where the Chinese walked around the 12th Documenta exhibition with standardized luggage. Mr. Li and Mr. Ai, one created a “myth,” and the other produced a “fairy tale.” They are the portly Moses figures. When asked if Hu Wei agreed to use "The Ultimate Badass Finale" as the title for this exhibition, he replied, "Badass is not my style."
《⻛下之乡》
（2020 - 2021）
53'20" 单通道录像（⾼清、彩⾊、⽴体声）
《⻛下之乡》从岛屿本体以及⾮⼈的视⻆“洞察”⼈类活动与⾃然的彼此⼲预，并以半纪录、 半虚构的⽅式探索了岛屿经济、地理，以及⽣命政治之间的多重交织关系。这⾥似乎是⼀个 闭合、循环的⽣态系统和经济体，在离岸并不太遥远的岛屿上，旅游业的基建发展刚刚启 动，⼈的⽇常和经济活动还受限于潮汐的影响。密林⾥到了夜晚会出现⻤⽕和幻象，或许是 当年因战乱被屠杀的居⺠的灵光还未散尽。海⾯下仍流传着⽔中神兽和巴瑶⼈流散的迷信与 传说 —— 正如岛上那些没有身份和国籍的⼆代移⺠，⼤多来⾃于传说的发源地。⽽如今他 们四散于⻢来的群岛间寻求⼀处栖居地，甚⾄远离⼤陆、分离或被分离。
▲ 胡伟，《坚强的⼼》（2014）,22'17"单频录像 , 彩⾊ , 有声 ，©胡伟
《坚强的⼼》
2014
22'17'' 单频录像 , 彩⾊ , 有声
录像⾥两位主⼈公（艺术家和朋友）进⾏了⼀段未经计划的穿越北京城乡结合部和郊区的奇怪旅⾏。他们⾸先在⾕歌地图上的⼤⽚绿⾊区域寻找并推测可能的⼯业痕迹，并从⾼密度的北京市中⼼出发。这是⼀趟过程不断偏移的旅程，他们⼀路发现可⽤于创作的素材、⽣活和⾃然材料。录像的⾼潮部分向观众揭示了两位通⾏者事先预设好的⽬的地 —— 采⽯场的全景 —— ⼀个⼆⼗四⼩时不间断作业的，为⾼速城市化进程提供⽯材和⽣⽯灰的原料⼯⼚。⼆⼈在⼭顶上⽤他们路上的拾得物进⾏即兴的噪⾳表演，直⾄夜幕降临。
▲ 胡伟，《硬世界，软世界》(2016),13'19'',单频录像（彩⾊、声⾳），©胡伟
《硬世界，软世界》
2016
13'19''
单频录像（彩⾊、声⾳）
作品的题⽬《硬世界，软世界》来⾃于凯⽂·凯利的书《新经济学原理》- 在其中他⼤胆地对未来的经济模式和⽣产⽅式进⾏预测。这件作品从艺术家⽐较具体的对⾃⼰身体改造的经验出发，这在电影⾥也转换为⼀种“表演”。身体作为⼀种软物质，对于我们⾃身；对于⽆机体的机械消耗；对于触摸的数字屏幕，以及对于劳动的关系为何？什么是身体的⾃我管理、身体语⾔的政治性？如何在当下全球资本主义的语境下界定身体并如何理解身体在社会关系中的多重含义 ? 通过拍摄、表演以及对既有素材的使⽤和蒙太奇式的处理，艺术家以⼀种平缓的、讲述的⽅式将身体与技术的临界点呈现出来，⼀种被投射在⼈造科技下的挣扎⽽不⾃知的身体和⼼理状态 - ⼈与系统、机器
（apparatus）之间建⽴起了⼀种类似于“⼼灵感应（telepathy）”的经验。⼀种不可⻅的劳动关系 - 似乎对身体的管理和娱乐最后也难逃掉⼊产业化的评判机制的宿命 – “我们永远都是未达标的”，那么这是否也是⼀个欲望的陷阱，不断刺激着我们的“⼒⽐多”。也许对⾃我的管理也是对⾃我的消费。
Exhibition｜Guangzhou LongSpace
2025.10.11-12.7