Progress of the collective project——Exhibition Formats and Artworks
During the Summerhall collective meeting, we brainstorm and develop the collective project. Everyone gathered artworks that interested them and started discussing exhibition concepts and design proposals. During discussing exhibition design, I proposed that our collective curatorial project should avoid the archival exhibition format. We should also minimize the use of labels and textual explanations, avoiding excessive reliance on exhibition panels. This week, while visiting the Forty Farm outdoor exhibition trail in Grasmere, I observed that this format fails to engage audiences. Furthermore, artist biographies and exhibition texts should be separated onto distinct walls or labels, with artistic lettering or typographic design applied. During my visit to Summerhall, I observed that their curators chose to place lengthy exhibition introductions and artist biographies on the entrance doors. While this approach minimizes space wastage, it discourages visitors from reading due to the overwhelming text volume. In stark contrast, Summerhall’s posters effectively capture audience attention—a practice I intend to learn from and integrate into my personal projects.
This week we also held an online meeting and finalized the collective project theme, basic ideas for the artwork, and subsequent division of tasks on the Miro board.
I am responsible for finding artworks that fit the broad theme of vitality, breath, nature and humanity, and providing explanatory texts. I proposed selecting a bubble paper artwork named Bubble Sample by RCA student Fengjunya Zheng[1] for the exhibition’s interactive activity section. This piece can be expanded into a fee-based workshop suitable for both adults and children. I also selected a piece named Lichenvision Lounge by artist Melissa Webb[2]. This work features green textiles symbolizing ecosystems, embodying humanity’s aspiration for harmony with nature.
[1] http://xhslink.com/o/6lPEKoIunTM [2] Lichenvision Lounge | Melissa Webb Art
We held another collective meeting on Sunday. We discussed the feasibility of hanging and displaying works based on the layout map created by Zhiyu Yang. I questioned the feasibility of using bubble wrap as material for the bubble sample artwork. Since bubble wrap is rarely used in the UK, purchasing new plastic bubble wrap contradicts the artwork’s original intent of plastic reuse. I believe we must curate while respecting the artist’s zero-waste recycling philosophy. During the discussion, I also added new artworks. This series, titled Trees and Wood by Xinger Gao, is a collection of photographs I took near Grasmere, capturing the brutal landscape formed by cut trees.
