[oberlist] Cai Guo-Qiang opened in IZOLYATSIA, Donetsk, UKRAINE

[Tetyana Filevska]

*Cai Guo-Qiang at IZOLYATSIA <http://www.izolyatsia.org/en/>: a step into
the future*
* **

>From 26 to 28 August, with the opening of Cai Guo-Qiang – 1040M
Underground<http://izolyatsia.org/cai/>,
Donetsk, Ukraine appeared on the world’s contemporary art map. A series of
special events accompanied the opening of the exhibit, thereby setting the
tone for the consequent ten weeks of the exposition period.
  *

**

*Panel Discussion*


 [image: DS_26082011.JPG]

**

*Participants of the discussion Pavlo Makov, Fabio Cavallucci, Cai Guo-Qiang
and Victoria Ivanova.  *

*By Dima Sergeev.  *

* *

The opening was preceded by a panel discussion with the participation of
international guests and local and international media. The discussion was
held in the premises of the same warehouse, where only a few days ago, the
New York-based artist, Cai Guo-Qiang, with the help of local volunteers,
created the gunpowder drawings that became the key element in the
installation *Monuments on Shoulders*. Together with Cai, Victoria Ivanova,
IZOLYATSIA’s Strategy Manager, Fabio Cavallucci, Director of the Centre for
Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, who has curated Ca’s past projects,
Pavel Makov, Kharkov-based artist (who will present his book “Donrosa” at
IZOLYATSIA on 10 September), together with Cai shared a lively conversation.
A dialogue around the current project quickly turned to more universal
questions such as the place of art in society and whether or not art can
influence and change the world.

Makov took the most pessimistic position, stating that the power of art
fades in the face of harsh reality and artists would benefit from “being
less ambitious and pretentious about their ability to change the world with
their creations.” Cavallucci, on the other hand, took a more idealistic
approach, thereby triggering an excited reaction from the audience, and
confessed that he “believes that art can change society.” According to
Cavallucci, Cai’s projects are “perfect examples of how art can detect and
bring to the surface society’s wounds, and by doing so, commence the process
of healing.” Ivanova further explained the reasons of inviting Cai to
Donetsk: Cai’s focus on site-specific projects and his ability to bring the
local community together in the production process. In addition, Cai’s
Chinese upbringing makes him familiar with the former-Soviet State
background.

The latter point was underlined by Cai himself; while taking questions from
the audience, he revealed that in his youth he dreamt of working in the
Soviet Union. All of Cai’s mentors studied under Socialist Realist masters,
some were even trained in the Soviet Union. This prompted him to accept
IZOLYATSIA’s invitation and fitted the project into his otherwise hectic
schedule. One of the most surprising remarks for the audience was the two
most influential figures in his life have been Mao Zedong and his
96-year-old grandmother. The latter sold fish in the port city of
Quanzhou despite
the fact that it was prohibited to practice any “free market” activity
outside of one’s registered occupation, and such action on his grandmother’s
part taught Cai the importance of independence. Mao’s revolutionary call on
the Red Guards that “Rebellion is justified,” to break from the past and to
approach creativity from undiscovered angles inspired Cai to think outside
the box. However, he does not deny that Mao has also caused a lot of
suffering. The panel participants spoke in Chinese, English, Ukrainian and
Russian, yet triple translation did not take anything away from the dynamic
nature of the discussion.

*Opening Cocktail *

Between 6pm and 10pm, IZOLYATSIA art-space experienced a yet unseen influx
of dressed-up guests. Among those were also the miners who served as models
in the art project. Their large-scale portraits, now imprinted with
gunpowder and hoisted on heaps of salt and coal composed the
installation *Monuments
on Shoulders* in the Main Gallery. For many, the installation in Warehouse
No. 2, *Nursery Rhymes*, of used mining carts-turned-cradles decorated with
objects from the past, rocking in the melancholic bandura melodies with
nostalgic Soviet-era documentary and film montages projected on the canopies
became the emotional culmination of the evening.

The Zasyadko coal-mine marching band played Soviet melodies and was
particularly popular amongst the younger guests of the opening.


*Press info:*
1. Downloading links for the images from the ignitions are in the attached
file (FOTO_1040M_ENG.pdf)
2. Daily photo-reports can be found and downloaded here
http://izolyatsia.org/cai/explore/photo-reports/
3. Press-release is attached (Press-release_1040M_ENG.pdf)

For any other additional information and comments, please, contact Tetyana
Filevska at tetyana.filevska at izolyatsia.org

-- 
*Tetyana Filevska*, project coordinator
tetyana.filevska at izolyatsia.org
+38 067 503 23 69

*IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives*
www.izolyatsia.org
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