Li-E Chen's One-Year Research and Development: A Silent Opera on the Life and Art of Tehching Hsieh 2017- 2018
VENICE | NEW YORK | LONDON
12 September 2017 - 12 September 2018
“Life is a life sentence, life is passing time, life is freethinking.” Tehching Hsieh
In 2017-2018, Li-E Chen conducted a series of experiments to begin her early conceptualisation of developing a 'silent opera' based on and inspired by the lifework(s) of Tehching Hsieh.
These involved carrying out her One-Year Research and Development, by visiting Tehching Hsieh: Doing Time exhibition at the 57th Venice Biennale in Venice, The Robert Wilson Archives at the Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation in New York; conducting her first public participatory experiments at the Southbank Centre, London during the China Changing Festival, "8 Session-Experiments" with 23 international contributors during Tate Modern's public displays of Tehching Hsieh: One Year Performance 1980-1981, and her first collaboration with Music Director and Conductor, Orlando Cella as part of her Artist Residency at Tete-a-Tete Opera Festival 2018 to present her early conceptualisation Solo Performance: Work-in-Progress for a Private-sharing along with a collection of Tehching Hsieh 1978 - 1999, 1978-1999 Posters and Statements at The Place, London. Marking the end of her R&D, Li-E invited Tehching Hsieh for a conversation with the public on 2nd October 2018 at the Live Art Development Agency, London, to gain a closer understanding of Hsieh’s ‘art without form’, ‘work become life’ and ‘freethinking become art.’
Li-E approached Hsieh's lifeworks as one piece of life durational work, and aimed to bring the concepts behind Hsieh’s six lifeworks to a 'silent opera.' Li-E refined her aesthetic of silence, interdisciplinary practice and opera making through this One-Year R&D. Her inspiration for this work was based on her initial response to the documentation posters and statements of Tehching Hsieh's six lifeworks: five One Year Performance ('Cage Piece', 'Time Clock Piece', 'Outdoor Piece', 'Art/Life Rope Piece', 'No Art Piece') carried out between 1978 - 1986 and Tehching Hsieh: 1986 - 1999 ('Thirteen Year Plan'), that she discovered in 2009.
For more details about the project, please visit here.
For any enquiries, please email info@liechen.com
A massive thank you to my team, contributors, mentors, all of my supporters, and friends to contribute my artistic development and helping me to make the project really successful.
Also a special thanks to: Tehching Hsieh (New York), Robert Wilson and The Robert Wilson Archives at the Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation (New York), Columbia University in the City of New York, Rare Book & Manuscript Library (New York), Professor Nathan Widder, Contemporary Political Theory Research Group, Royal Holloway, University of London (UK), and Improbable’s Devoted and Disgruntled (UK).
ARTIST, CONCEPT, DIRECTION:
Li-E Chen
INVISIBLE MUSEUM ASSISTANTS:
Li-E Chen, Hannah Grace Whittaker, Maria-Teresa Ortoleva, Christina Marriage, Mette Philipsen, Dr Mark Walker, Paul Whitlock, Jasmine Lee, Yiwen Li, Nouria Bah, Chloe Ting, Christie Lee, Sherry Jie Min and Anonymous
PROJECT COORDINATOR & ARTIST ASSISTANT: Hannah Grace Whittaker
PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PRODUCER: Li-E Chen
PROJECT ASSISTANT: Maria-Teresa Ortoleva
ACCESS SUPPORT ASSISTANTS: Mette Philipsen and Anonymous
RESIDENCY COLLABORATOR - MUSIC CONDUCTOR: Orlando Cella
CONTRIBUTORS OF '8 SESSION-EXPERIMENTS WITH LI-E CHEN':
Andrea Abbatangelo (Artist/Sculptor)
Angeliki Margeti (Choreographer)
Christina Marriage (Curator)
Clay Gold (Writer/Sound Artist)
Claudia Contu (Curator)
Delea Stand (Singer)
Eleni Tomadaki- Balomenou (Artist)
Eline Vandeheede (Singer)
Emma Ingala Gómez (Professor of Philosophy)
Ernst Fischer (Artist)
Ezequiel Steinman (Dramaturge/Artist)
Gavin Fernades (Violinist/Conductor/Composer)
James Oldham (Composer/Director/Artist)
Jessica Hung Yun (Lighting Designer)
Lynn-Marie Harper (Writer/Choreographer)
Orlando Cela (Music Director/Conductor)
Stewart Melton (Writer/Dramaturge/Director)
Seta White (Actor/Director/Opera Director)
Tanya Sharick (Artist)
Maria Teresa Ortoleva (Visual Artist)
Megan Armitage (Musician)
Miguel Ballarin (Choreographer)
Yanaelle Thiran (Choreographer)
CONTRIBUTORS AT THE SOUTHBANK CENTRE
Ernst Fischer (Artist), Jey Jeyakumar (Singer), Jonathan Parr (Theatre Artist), and Kimvi Nguyen (Artist).
FOR ANY ENQUIRIES,
please contact Li-E Chen, email info@liechen.com