Casa Asia and CIFRA organize an Asian video art program for Loop
Presented by:
Olga Shishko, visiting professor at the University of Venice, Ca’ Foscari, and Head of the Art Department at CIFRA; Anastasia Stravinsky, art director of CIFRA; and Menene Gras Balaguer, Director of the Department of Culture and Exhibitions at Casa Asia.
The program Gentle Tremor: New Horizons in Asian Video Art brings together recent works by eight Asian artists from Hong Kong, Japan, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, focused on discovering new horizons for moving images. In pursuit of this goal, they explore the limits of video art and its potential for the future development of moving images, as well as the creation of new narratives and storytelling forms. While each piece maintains its individuality and unique production, it’s essential not to overlook the cultural differences that characterize them, nor the connections that can be made among the various symbolic landscapes they encompass. In a divided and increasingly polarized world, the Director of CIFRA believes that art can play a crucial role in both similar and opposing cultures, effecting changes in power dynamics that enhance audience awareness. The planet we know today is one in crisis, which can only change through technological and scientific invention and continual innovation in the visual arts.
The first work to be screened is A Palm, a Fountain, an Umbrella (2024), by Sharon Cheuk Wun Lee, a video poem that explores the changes in her city brought about by sociopolitical shifts, bilingualism, and their impact on the cultural identity of affected citizens. Ebony Dreams (2019), by Eri Saito, is an experimental exploration of how our bodies move unconsciously, such as in cases of sleepwalking, perceived by others as inexplicable movements. The intriguing, surreal video Ringo (2020) by Amie Barouh evokes childhood memories and our inner child in today’s context. The sarcastic video Lerne Deutsch in Meiner Küche (2020), by Popo Fan, immerses viewers in a cooking class with an absurd twist on the German language. Axl presents his latest work Joseph’s Midnight Party (2024) for the first time. In The Story of Nanka Gulu and Iron Hawk (2021), by Chen Zhou, the audience encounters the ancestral wisdom of an escaped intelligent drone. Mother Water Gulbib Balkhash (2024), by Almagul Menlibayeva, distorts our understanding of geography to reveal new worlds. The program concludes with Curse of Staged Atavism (2024) by Shuree Sarantuya, a piece that won the CIFRA Award at Art Night Venezia this summer.
Screening Program:
Sharon Cheuk A Palm, a Fountain, an Umbrella (2024), 10’24’’
Eri Saito Ebony Dream (2019), 3’23’’
Amie-Sarah Ringo (2020), 3’27’’
Popo Fan Lerne Deutsch in meiner Küche (2020), 2’22’’
Axl Joseph’s Midnight Party (2024), 22’’
Chen Zhou The Story of Nanka Gulu and Iron Hawk (2021)
Almagul Menlibayeva Mother Water Gulbib Balkhash (2024), 15 min
’Shuree Sarantuya Curse of Staged Atavism (2024), 11’41’’
In the picture: Chen Zhou, The Story of Nanka Gulu and Iron Hawk (2021), 16’