Week 8 | Structure and Negotiation: Defining Our Shell
1. Negotiation in Collective Collaboration
our discussion at Summerhall helped us confirm the direction of our exhibition more clearly. We finalised the exhibition date, selected the works we want to include, and agreed on the title: Our Shell. This title feels closely connected to Ji Ju Collective itself. For us, Ji Ju is not just a group name, but a way of thinking about being together through difference.
In Summerhall’s site research, we realized that curation is not only the stacking of works of art, but also the power negotiation between different voices. The artist’s works brought by each member need to find their own place in the limited physical space. We must strike a balance between protecting the uniqueness of personal narratives and maintaining the overall sense of the exhibition. This process made me understand that the curator is more like a coordinator, looking for the possibility of coexistence between multiple intentions.
2. The Curator’s Primary Task
With the determination of the name of the exhibition, the focus of our work shifted to how to show the profound artistic significance through limited materials. Although we need to deal with trivial matters such as budget, venue contracts and logistics, I always remind myself that the essence of curation lies in the reproduction of meaning. As curatorial theorist Terry Smith emphasizes:
I am assuming that exhibiting artistic meaning is the main task of the contemporary curator, to which all other roles are subservient.
This means that all our administrative negotiations and spatial planning must ultimately serve the core purpose of presenting the complex inner worlds of sojourners.
3.Spatial Layout and Logistics Negotiation
At the operational level, we have begun drafting detailed floor plans for the Summerhall gallery. This is a process of continuous compromise. We need to consider how to arrange works in different media, from installation to flat painting, to ensure that the audience’s movement is natural and rhythmic. The curation is not only to put things together, but also to imply the narrative relationship through the arrangement of physical distance. We are learning how to make these fragmented shells form a complete collective landscape through spatial intertextuality while respecting the creative independence of each member.
Figure 1. Ji Ju Collective discussion materials and planning notes developed during Week 8 at Summerhall, focusing on exhibition selection, event timing, and printed materials for public engagement.
Figure 2. Ji Ju Collective discussion materials and planning notes developed during Week 8 at Summerhall, focusing on exhibition selection, event timing, and printed materials for public engagement.
Figure 3.Ji Ju Collective discussion materials and planning notes developed during Week 8 at Summerhall, focusing on exhibition selection, event timing, and printed materials for public engagement.
Figure 4.Ji Ju Collective discussion materials and planning notes developed during Week 8 at Summerhall, focusing on exhibition selection, event timing, and printed materials for public engagement.
Notes:
1.Smith, Terry, and Independent Curators International. Thinking Contemporary Curating. New York: Independent Curators International, 2013, 23-24.
