“Everything is Extremely Important: There is Nothing That Will Not Come Back Again”
Yu Honglei solo exhibition, curated by Aimee Lin @ Magician Space, 798 Art District, Beijing, China
12 July – 8 September, 2013
By Edward Sanderson
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- installation view
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- (left) “Now,” (right) “Gravity”
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- (background) “Jian Ge Wen Ling,” (foreground) “Let Me Approach You Again”
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- (foreground) “It,” (background) “First into the Mist”
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- (left) “In the midst of the blooming flowers, she smiles.” (right) “Gravity”
Various objects and constructions are dispersed around the first room of “Everything is Extremely Important: There is Nothing That Will Not Come Back Again,” Yu Honglei’s solo exhibition at Magician Space. It is assumed that each is intentionally chosen and arranged, and as such suggests that they are imbued with meaning. Yet in Yu’s presentation, while objects and assemblages tempt interpretation, their meanings are left resolutely unclear—never quite fulfilling the viewer’s efforts to read them.
A low barrier perforated with a brickwork pattern is coated in a lumpy, clay-like material with two digital clocks, displaying identical times, inserted in the gaps. On the other side of the room, a similar barrier is laden with the same shapeless material this time supporting a light bulb and fitting. Towards the back wall two sky-blue wooden beams (reportedly from an “ancient building”) stand upright on tripods, with stuffed budgerigars clinging to their surface. A low, black, wooden box stands to one side, with two black porcelain cat figurines perched neatly on top.