This pioneer of "immersive journalism" draws from AAA's Collection to create a new iteration of an earlier performance by New York and Beijing-based artist Lin Yilin that pushes the boundaries of virtual reality and digital technology.
15 INVITATIONS for 15 Years
A special programme series featuring exhibitions, projects, written works, performances, a blog, and publication marking Asia Art Archive's 15-year anniversary.
Recognised for using cutting edge technologies to tell both fictional and news-based stories that create immersive, empathic engagement on the part of viewers, Nonny de la Peña draws from the AAA collection to create a new iteration of 'Safely Manoeuvring Across Lin He Road' (1995) by New York and Beijing based artist Lin Yilin.
In the initial performance, Lin built a wall of bricks in the middle of a busy roadway in Guangzhou. As the artist moved across, he gradually brought the wall along—forcing cars to detour around him. For 'Passage: The Life of a Wall on Lin He Road', de la Pena recreates the environment of Guangzhou in the 1990s through an immersive virtual reality experience where participants take on Lin's role as roadside artist.
Lin's conceptual practice often embraces sculpture, installation, photography, and moving image media that feature outdoor performances involving architectural and urban construction motifs; and he shares a mutual interest in issues affecting changing urban city life with de la Peña. Using digital technology, de la Peña does not simply re-enact Lin's performance but creates an experiential encounter that pushes boundaries: between artist as maker, audience as receiver, and art as conceptual or visceral.
Nonny de la Peña
Nonny de la Peña is known for her work as 'The Godmother of Virtual Reality', co-founding Emblematic Group in the United States. A Yale Poynter Media Fellow and former Annenberg Fellow at USC School of Journalism and Communications, her work has been featured through the BBC, Engadget, Games For Change, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, The New York Times, Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals, Vice, Victoria and Albert Museum, Wired, and World Economic Forum in Davos, among other international outlets.
Lin Yilin
Lin Yilin lives and works in New York and Beijing. He co-founded the artist group Big Tail Elephants in 1990 and participated in 'Cities on the Move' (1997); 2nd Johannesburg Biennale (1997); 1st Taipei Biennial (1998); 4th Gwangju Biennale (2002); 50th Venice Biennale (2003); documenta 12 (2007); 10th Lyon Biennale (2009); 12th Swiss Sculpture Exhibition (2014); and the 12th Havana Biennial (2015), among other international exhibitions.
E-dossiers forthcoming
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Safely Manoeuvred Through Lin He Street(1995)
Presented by Asia Art Archive
Supported by Lavina & William Lim
AAA is a Cultural Partner of Art Basel in Hong Kong for 2017.
15 Invitations for 15 Years is supported by the S. H. Ho Foundation Limited, the C. K. & Kay Ho Foundation, and The Hong Kong Arts Development Council. The programme is part of the ADC 20th Anniversary Celebration Series. Special thanks to Hani Charaf, Kemistry Design.
