The exhibition: An Intimate Process of Strangeness was on display from January 28, 2023 to February 26, 2023, Curated by Sen Kwok and ccordinated by Lik. The exhibition includes 49 Asian artists, 4 independent units (the performance and interaction unit, the workshop unit, the film unit, the physical work unit), which took place in the co-living space LuckyPot 34 in Mottingham, South London. This exhibition takes the artist's internal experience consciousness and external consciousness experience as the frame, as a human emotion, perception, memory, awareness, looks back at the individual's collected and contemplative position in comparison to nature, city, class, and family. LuckyPot(IG luckypotart) aims to provide spaces and opportunities for young Asian artists in UK to archive and exhibit their voices and works as a community. We hope to challenge the boundaries of traditional art institution curating, and experimenting to reconnect the private and public domain in LuckyPot 34.
“To return to the individual is also to return to one of the most intimate units of thought. Each artist has their own internal experience of consciousness, reflecting the emotions, perceptions, memories, and awareness of being human. While the external experience of consciousness, in turn, looks back at the individual's collected and contemplative position in comparison to nature, city, class, and family. This artist group image, whether out of reflection or in practice, thinks of people embracing and redefining the distance between themselves and the world, their relationship with themselves, in a simpler and more intimate way. ”
#The Intimate Opening: Performance Unit
The performance unit of the exhibition is planned to take place in the outdoor courtyard area of the LuckyPot 34 space. On the opening day of the exhibition, five groups of invited artists in different performance mediums will put up their performance mobile or permanently, to explore and present the dynamics and balance in the relationship between one and others, people and the outside environment.
#The Intimate Community: Workshop Unit
During the exhibition, four female artists or designers has invited to hold weekly workshops. We use the main gallery in the ground floor as a place for public participation, interaction and discussion. The invited artists will recruit participants to work together on topics such as cross-cultural experiences, feminism, fetishism and intimacy. During the period, the setting of this exhibition room will change and evolve constantly with the process of the workshop series. Therefore the artists and participants could build together their dialogues and responses across time in one space.
#The Intimate Projection: Film Unit
The film unit of the exhibition is located on the 1st floor of the space and is divided into three sections: repetitive performance, virtual media narrative, and performative video. Two private bedrooms and studios of our resident artists have been set up as public screening rooms. Without any form of interfering and changing the furnishings and activities of the occupants, we want to create an highly intimate experience for the audience.
#For Those Strange Guests: Exhibition Experience
"I saw your room so beautiful from outside! should I take off my shoes?"
The position of the people who arrives and start lives in an unfamiliar intercultural environment could feel like a guest who is not conversant with the house rules. Where do our neighbors place their forks? How should I dry my clothes? When visiting a house as a strange guest, one have to rearrange their daily behavior by imitating the habits of the "host". Newcomers to cross-cultural living environments are not ignorant of common sense, but are forced to reacquire the subtle "rules" in an unfamiliar context. This process of reorganizing common knowledge with known information and alienating familiar information as well is the process of intimate strangeness. Entering LuckyPot 34, we designed the exhibition experience as one visiting of the host. Following the guidance of the "landlord's notes", the audience can choose to be a friendly visitor to explore the exhibition space, or to deviate from all guidance and common sense in the environment, to be an unwanted guest or "thief".
