Artist on an endless journey of learning
Print Edition
IF there’s one thing that Ryan Gander doesn’t like about art, it must be spilling the beans about how his works were created, because he hopes each viewer has a different interpretation.
So the British artist, who uses a wheelchair because he has brittle bone disease, was very reluctant to give details on the artworks for his first solo exhibition in China at a recent speech in Fudan University about conceptual art. “I hope the audiences can build their own stories,” he said.
One of the most productive conceptual artists in the United Kingdom, Gander’s first solo exhibition in China was launched at Cc Foundation’s M50 space, running until May 14.
“Human / Non Human / Broken / Non Broken” features two sculptures and an installation work conceived specifically for the gallery in Shanghai, in collaboration with the Lisson Gallery.
But viewers can be confused by what they see, such as Gander’s new artwork, a human-size armature skeleton. It is not a robot but the exact internal structure of a human being.
“I was in Berlin for an exhibition when Brexit happened. And it made me the luckiest man to have hit a stone and broke my shoulder, the result of which was me staying at home for the whole summer,” he explains. “This is the sole product of being miserable, being stuck in the house and watching news about Brexit on TV.
“While I was lying on bed, watching my country become a nation of people who refer to themselves as ‘I’ instead of ‘we.’ At the time, my 7-year-old daughter came home with a certificate saying she’s good at empathy, at understanding people. I don’t know how to connect these two things but they are my inspiration for this work.”
But why? That seems to be the point. Gander is constantly investigating, learning, developing, decoding and recoding. So this time in Shanghai, this is an investigation or experiment in the possibilities to convey emotions.
“One would imagine that it would be impossible for this artwork to use visual components to communicate emotions when deprived of face. But just by changing small movement in this figure, massive emotions can be conveyed to the audience.”
Shanghai reminds him of Naples, Gander said in an earlier interivew. “I’m seeing order out of chaos,” he said.
As a man who uses visual language as currency, Gander has noticed many signifiers in Shanghai that are totally incomprehensible to him, such as expensive but badly fitted marble. He compares this feeling to going on a “massive and interesting semiotic field trip.”
Gander was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his service to the arts. But he doesn’t consider himself an a artist. Gander says he lives a life not consciously making art, but where art is made by accident.
“Everybody is instinctively creative. You don’t need to be a artist. You just need to be human,” he says. “By deciding the cloth you put on, the objects you want to put on as a mental piece, you are creating art.”
Building art schools, teaching graphic design, designing for adidas, designing football kit and doing consultancy work for corporations are some of the things Gander has done. He sees himself as an easily bored man, so it’s important for him to keep learning.
“I usually find big businesses have established a culture where they think young people are wrong and their ideas might be failing. In big business, you get old people running it and they think themselves are right because they have life of experience. So they never think of new possibilities,” he says.
“Human / Non Human / Broken / Non Broken”
Date: Through May 14, 10am-6pm
Venue: Cc Foundation, 50 Moganshan Rd
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