About this Event
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Artist Wang Baoju is looking for 5-10 volunteers to complete an art piece together. Under traffic lights, whisper T.S.Eliot's The Waste Land from the beginning to the end.
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T. S. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1888. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 at 26 and settled in London. His 1922 publication, The Waste Land, brought him international fame and is considered one of the most influential poems of the twentieth century, marking a milestone in British and American modern poetry. In 1927, at 39, Eliot became a British citizen. He passed away in London in 1965 at the age of 77. Thus, the United States is his homeland, and the United Kingdom is his "elsewhere."
The artist has performed poetry recitations with music in Beijing and Hong Kong, specifically focusing on The Waste Land. Performing under traffic lights, the artist recites Eliot's The Waste Land to the rhythm of the lights. The poetic lines, fragmented by the mechanical rhythm of the traffic signals, transform the poetry into mechanical stereotypes, highlighting its drama and absurdity.
At the United Kingdom Ruthin Festival, the artist will continue to explore the theme of The Waste Land.
5 to 10 volunteers, each holding a copy of The Waste Land, will stand under traffic lights and whisper the poem. Though it seems like a whisper, the collective sound will be amplified, creating a blend of whispers that become an ensemble and a roar. This setup will fully realise the sense of the scene and the image for the later video documentation.
The United Kingdom was Eliot's other place, but this great poet predicted: Here and elsewhere is The Waste Land.
About the Artist: Wang Baoju王宝菊
Born in 1965 in Liaoning Province. Graduated from the Chinese Language and Literature Department of Nankai University. She was deputy director of Today Art Museum, editor-in-chief of Art Today, and worked as a curator. She has published Non-Art Interview, Non-Architecture Interview and so on.
She started to be an independent artist since 2010.
Through sculpture, installation and video, she expresses her concerns about women and social issues, exploring the subtle situation of human beings in this world between poetry and absurdity. She has held many solo exhibitions and been invited to participate in group exhibitions at home and abroad. She now lives in Beijing.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Ruthin, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
