Part I: Reflecting on “The Sleepwalkers” Curatorial Direction
The curatorial methodology that Shiming Wang has contributed to The Sleepwalkers—particularly the idea of “daydreaming curation”—has brought a unique poetic and philosophical texture to the collective. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of “smooth space” (1987) and Doyle’s affect theory (2013), her concept invites non-linearity, audience agency, and curatorial openness. However, to strengthen the exhibition in practice, it is necessary to clarify how these ideas translate spatially and structurally.
For example, what does “daydreaming” look like for the audience in physical or digital space? Could it involve participatory scores, ambient texts, or shifting scenography? As Bishop (2012) argues, participatory models must move beyond aesthetic gestures and be built with critical structure. Otherwise, the collective vision may remain poetic but ungrounded. It is also worth considering what “sleepwalking” means for access and ethics: how can we guide the audience through a dispersed, ephemeral field while still making them feel invited—not lost or excluded?
Shiming Wang’s reflections on watching, visibility, and power—especially through the metaphor of the peep show—are timely and sharply articulated. But how do these reflections translate into curatorial form? Is the exhibition inviting voyeurism, disrupting it, or mirroring it back at the viewer? Exploring curatorial tactics such as mirrored installations, camera feedback loops, or gaze-activated works could help operationalize the conceptual framework she has proposed.
Part II: On the Train Exhibition Proposal – Her(e)scape
Shiming Wang’s personal project, the mobile exhibition Her(e)scape, is a bold and visually captivating proposal. Using a train as a moving site of feminist artistic intervention is conceptually strong and symbolically resonant. However, several challenges should be further examined.
First, as noted in feedback, the logistical feasibility of using a full train is questionable. Rather than discarding the idea altogether, I encourage Shiming to scale it down—perhaps begin with a single carriage or simulate the experience through video or VR. She could also look into precedents such as Station to Station (Doug Aitken, 2013) or community-led mobile exhibitions that operate via buses, shipping containers, or repurposed public infrastructure.
Second, I suggest developing a clearer curatorial structure. For example: Will each carriage represent a theme or artist? How will the exchange of art between participants be managed? How to avoid tokenising participatory moments or over-romanticising spontaneity? Here, revisiting Lippard’s (1973) concept of dematerialisation may be useful—her model resists fixed objecthood, but still needs conceptual scaffolding.
Finally, it’s important to reflect on the audiences you’re trying to reach. If the exhibition is mobile, does it also imply public access? How will you address economic and cultural accessibility if it moves through geographically diverse areas?
Her project has strong symbolic weight—linking mobility, feminism, and collective authorship—but it needs refinement in scope, budget, and curatorial logic to be fully realised.
References
Bishop, Claire. Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship. London: Verso Books, 2012.
Bourriaud, Nicolas. Relational Aesthetics. Dijon: Les Presses du Réel, 2002.
Deleuze, Gilles, and Félix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Trans. Brian Massumi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987.
Doyle, Jennifer. Hold It Against Me: Difficulty and Emotion in Contemporary Art. Durham: Duke University Press, 2013.
Lippard, Lucy R. Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object from 1966 to 1972. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.
O’Neill, Paul. The Culture of Curating and the Curating of Culture(s). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012.
Biederman, Matthew. Event Horizon. 2012. https://www.mbiederman.com/Event-Horizon
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