Wu Tsang’s radical approach to fiction and truth takes centre stage at Gropius Bau
The American artist’s yearlong residency at the Berlin institution culminates with a major survey of her filmmaking and sculptural practice
In his 1990 book Poetics of Relations, Martinican philosopher and poet Édouard Glissant famously argued for the ‘right to opacity for everyone’, as an ethical stance against imperial conquest. This notion is central to the practice of American artist Wu Tsang, as manifested across the moving image and glass-based works featured in a new major exhibition, opened at Gropius Bau. Entitled ‘There is no nonviolent way to look at somebody’, it spans seven rooms, incorporating film, sculpture, text and sound and is the result of a yearlong residency at the Berlin institution – the first of its kind.
‘I am working with transparency and opacity as metaphors for language,’ says Tsang of her site-specific, blue stained glass windows Sustained Glass. Words are etched into the pane using acid, forming an overlapping text that fades in and out of legibility. Responding to the proportions of the 19th-century, neo-Renaissance building, the sculpture inverts the tradition of stained glass windows, depicting allegorical stories through images. ‘The glass is literally shaped by the mouth and by breathing,’ Tsang says of the medieval hand-blown technique, perfected in Bavaria, ‘which makes a very physical connection to the voice.’
Best known for her innovative approach to documentary filmmaking, particularly in relation to queer politics and underground spaces, Tsang returns with a new film, this time dealing with the experience of migration. Shot on the island of Lesbos, One emerging from a point of view addresses the trauma of forced displacement experienced by the hundreds of refugees reaching Greece’s shores every week. Weaving together fact and fiction in the style of magical realism, the film questions modes of representation in the context of the refugee crisis. ‘I feel less reactionary to representational politics,’ the filmmaker says of her new work, which is screened via two overlapping video projections. ‘I don’t feel constrained by genre or rules of filmmaking.’
Collaboration is key for the artist, who regularly draws in diverse practitioners into her work. ‘My work often takes shape in dialogue with others,’ explains the 37-year-old artist, recipient of a MacArthur ‘genius’ grant in 2018. This is reflected in the exhibition, where a number of protagonists make central appearances, from poet Fred Moten to performance artist Boychild and photographer Eirini Vourloumis. ‘I see my role as a sort of director or host, in the sense that I try to create the circumstances for interactions to unfold,’ she says.
As the American artist continues to take Europe by storm – soon joining the Schauspielhaus Zurich as director in residence – Tsang’s Berlin exhibition offers a thoughtful overview of her practice to date, while glancing at the future.
INFORMATION
‘Wu Tsang: There is no nonviolent way to look at somebody’, 4 September 2019 – 12 January 2020, Gropius Bau. berlinerfestspiele.de
ADDRESS
Gropius Bau
Niederkirchnerstrasse 7
10963 Berlin
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
The 2024 Ivor Novello nominations for songwriting have been revealed
77 British and Irish songwriters and composers make up this year's nominees, announced tonight at London's Groucho Club
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Why Bollinger’s La Grande Année 2015 champagne is worth celebrating
Champagne Bollinger unveils La Grande Année 2015 and La Grande Année Rosé 2015, two outstanding cuvées from an exceptional year in wine-making
By Melina Keays Published
-
Lexus installation explores time at Milan Design Week 2024
Lexus brought designer Hideki Yoshimoto’s ‘Beyond the Horizon’ to Milan’s Art Point, part of its ongoing series of collaborations with Fuorisalone
By Nargess Shahmanesh Banks Published
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London
‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Oozing, squidgy, erupting forms come alive at Hayward Gallery
‘When Forms Come Alive: Sixty Years of Restless Sculpture’ at Hayward Gallery, London, is a group show full of twists and turns
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Lawrence Lek’s depressed self-driving cars offer a glimpse of an AI future in Berlin
Lawrence Lek’s installation ‘NOX’, created with LAS Art Foundation, takes over Berlin’s abandoned Kranzler Eck shopping centre
By Emily Steer Published
-
New glass sculpture creates a verdant wonderland at Apple’s Cupertino HQ
‘Mirage’ at Apple Park is the work of Zeller & Moye and artist Katie Paterson, a shimmering array of glass columns that snakes through the grounds of the company’s monumental HQ
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Man Ray’s sculptures go on show in New York
‘Man Ray: Other Objects’ opens at Luxembourg + Co, New York, revealing their author’s ‘artistic revolution’
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The best London art exhibitions to see now
Your guide to the best London art exhibitions, as chosen by the Wallpaper* arts desk
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Erwin Wurm’s pop-coloured fantasy land at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
In Erwin Wurm’s first UK museum show, ‘Trap of the Truth’, the artist transforms Yorkshire Sculpture Park into a slightly warped wonderland (10 June 2023 – 28 April 2024)
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro transforms Fendi’s Rome HQ into a theatre of myth and magic
Fendi’s Roman HQ sets the scene for ‘Il Grande Teatro delle Civiltà’ a major show by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, who has also created a one-off edition of the house’s iconic Peekaboo bag. Read more in the July 2023 Issue of Wallpaper*, on newsstands 8 June
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published