On November 4th, SinArts presents the second of two artists talks on the occasion of our exhibition "Our Gaze- a solo presentation by Tsou Yung-shan". After engaging with Rotterdam independant Publisher YinYin Wong about the Artist Book as object, Yung-Shan will now go into conversation with art historian Nancy Hoffmann about the changing boundaries between our public and private sphere.
The Crossroad Between Public and Private - Where I End and You Begin
Nancy Hoffmann in conversation with Tsou Yung-Shan
The art of Yung-shan Tsou hoovers silently between us.
It is up-close and personal without being intrusive. It is familiar like a déjà-vu and homely like a tent. The space that her work occupies is the space we take and the space we leave behind us, once we walk outside our private residencies. That is where I end, and you begin.
Yung-shan Tsou makes this space small so it could fit into our pockets. An entire world can evolve around a book. Beyond expectation. Sometimes she gives it in our hands to shape it every way we like. Just to give us the opportunity to be a little more aware of our own steps in life. And then she even shows us what we have been over-looking. Gently, modestly. By showing us little scraps and pieces we all leave trailing. Or by sharing the chaotic complexity of her world with us. Her work is mesmerizingly simple and imperceptibly complex. But completely recognizable.
I can’t escape the western philosophical outlook on Yung-shan’s work, even if I tried. I go to De Certeau’s outlook on everyday life, tiptoe around Bachelards’ poetics of space, and then she bluntly confronts me with Walter Benjamin’s flâneur. I am left with an endless stream of questions that don’t need an answer. They just need to be asked. And I am sure Yung-shan Tsou will be inspiring company during our mental stroll.
We invite you to walk along.