Hsu Che-Yu: Three Episodes of Mourning Exercises
With his first solo exhibition in Belgium, Hsu Che-Yu presents a series of objects and works that together form an original landscape on the idea of mourning. The impressive triptych Three Episodes of Mourning Exercises takes centre stage, consisting of three of his latest video works and as many stories about loss.
Zoo Hypothesis recounts the animal-to-animal mourning ritual created by zookeepers who trained animals to kneel and perform gestures of worship to commemorate animals that have died due to warfare. In Blank Photograph, the memories of a terrorist bomber are juxtaposed with his brother's suicide in the family home, presenting death as a tension between the individual and the collective. Finally, Gray Room is a tribute to the artist's deceased grandmother, recalling the experience of bodily perception in her house while contemplating death and memory from a material perspective.
To produce his video works, Che-Yu works with the 3D scanning technique also used by the Taiwanese police to collect forensic evidence, identify fragmented or decomposing bodies and examine crime scenes. Multiple exercises in mourning that explore the representations, constructions and alienations of memory and death as an intimate event. A breathtaking experience.
Three Episodes of Mourning Exercises is an exhibition by Hsu Che-Yu, created by Hsu Che-Yu (artist) and Chen Wan-Yin (scriptwriter).
A collaboration between Kunstenfestivaldesarts and argos.
Theatre, dance, performance and visual arts: Kunstenfestivaldesarts is a celebration of international contemporary creation. From 10 May to 1 June 2024, it invites artists both local and international to challenge our understanding of the world and present their bold artistic creations in some thirty cultural venues and public spaces in Brussels.