Curator策展：                         Xiao Liu刘枭
Artist艺术家:     Chengtao Yi 易承桃      Jiawei Zhao 赵嘉玮    Xi Song 宋希   Zhiliang Zhao 赵之亮

September 27, 2024 - October 9th, 2024
A Space: 13 Grattan St, #402, Brooklyn, NY11206

The notion of the “foreigner” in the Western context has been continuously redefined, evolving alongside the emergence of nation-states, colonialism, and the construction of racialized identities. As exemplified by the 2024 Venice Biennale’s theme, “Foreigners Everywhere,” the idea of the foreigner in today’s world is being reexamined in light of global migration. However, the exhibition Foreigners Nowhere at A Space diverges from the grand framework of the Biennale by presenting works from four artists—Jiawei Zhao, Zhiliang Zhao, Xi Song, and Chengtao Yi—who are, by nationality, defined as foreigners. Their works delve into these complexities, addressing foreignness not as a conceptual dichotomy of ‘self’ and ‘other’ but as a tactile, lived experience embedded in the tenacity of everyday life, revealing foreignness as an intricate fabric woven through subtle and resilient acts.

Jiawei Zhao’s photo series, The Third Space, was initiated during the COVID-19 lockdown, a period when the pandemic confined people to fixed locations and prompted a re-examination of normality. The imposed division between the virtual and the real, for Zhao, resonates with the conventional understanding of photography as a representation of reality through visual apparatus. Coupled with his intensified sense of alienation, Zhao began to reflect on his relationship with photography—a medium that was invented in the West and continually shaped by Western contextualization. Zhao draws from a wide variety of sources, such as the Chinese edition of The New York Times (in which images of beautiful American houses were presented to the Chinese audience as part of exclusive interviews, not commercial advertisements); outdoor scenes provided by friends and online acquaintances, many of whom he met during the pandemic; and family albums, including his passport and visa photos. These visual materials have been printed, cropped, painted, folded, and layered to create a “third space,” where photographic frames are also treated as a means rather than a final solution, transforming the images from flat surfaces into dynamic, constructive elements. This process dissolves binaries such as indoor vs. outdoor, virtual vs. real, self vs. other, and citizens vs. foreigners. In both literal and metaphorical terms, Zhao constructs a third space for himself and others like him, where foreignness potentially becomes a space of engagement and inhabitation.

While Jiawei Zhao aims to reconcile, Zhiliang Zhao’s recent work, Plaque, captures and sculpts resonant expressions from everyday encounters, not as alienation but as a playful recontextualization of foreignness that emerges from the fractures of the mundane. In his Plaque (On a Wednesday Morning), he transforms a bold statement from a casual conversation—“On Wednesday morning, I’m a werewolf”—into a seemingly vulnerable small-scale plaque. The material presentation contrasts with the wild energy of the words, playing with the tension between text and form. This contrast is also evident in Plaque (If I Can’t Please), where the phrase is written on a vertical column-like structure. As one reads from top to bottom, the text blurs, and the color fades, emphasizing the instability of meaning as it unfolds across the continuous surface of the sculpture. By consciously reframing these moments, Zhao offers a distinct perspective on foreignness—highlighting the absurd contrasts that exist in seemingly trivial moments with the significant presence lurking beneath.

Also inspired by language, Xi Song reflects on her awkward moments learning English vocabulary and its cultural connotations. In her piece Microwave, she humorously revisits her initial encounter with the English word “microwave,” which, to her, resembled not a kitchen appliance but a visual image of tiny hand waves saying goodbye—combining the meanings of “micro” and “wave.” This amusing misinterpretation stuck with her, leading her to create a kinetic sculpture based on her literal imagination of a micro-wave that captures the humor and awkwardness of navigating a foreign language. In HighFive, Song explores another culturally loaded gesture, featuring a retractable hand toy and a video documenting how the toy is used in real life. For Song, the high-five—a gesture meant to express encouragement or camaraderie—felt alien, prompting her to create the retractable hand toy as a strategic adaption to foreign cultural norms. “Foreign moments begin long before one actually arrives in a foreign land. The real question is not whether foreignness exists but how to express it or resolve it through everyday interactions and exchanges.”(Song)

Chengtao Yi’s painting series, Figures, explores the technical question of how we perceive things in relation to our ability to see, asserting that our capability to see is also preconditioned before we consciously understand the act of seeing itself. The series features two eye charts—one from China and one from the U.S.—commonly used for vision tests. Yi imposes a unique set of constraints on himself by removing his glasses and painting these optometric charts from the same distance they are typically viewed during an eye exam. This deliberate approach introduces intentional distortion, reflecting the artist’s unfiltered vision and prompting a deeper reflection on perception, clarity, and the subjective nature of sight. It serves as a reminder of how much our vision is shaped by preconceived notions rather than the raw data our eyes take in. The two sets of institutionalized, standardized systems of so-called scientific tests prescribe our ability to see, and for Yi, this encapsulates the underlying logic of foreignness, where individual differences and the distinctiveness of each bodily sense are leveled and indoctrinated.

Through the lens of these four artists, Foreigners Nowhere seeks to reveal the intricate layers of foreignness—not through broad abstractions, but as a tangible, lived condition rooted in the materiality of everyday life and sustained through subtle acts of resilience. It speaks to the experience of living in a perpetual state of “nowhere,” where belonging is constantly questioned. What truly sets Foreigners Nowhere apart from the notion of “foreigners everywhere” is not merely a shift in terms, but the emphasis on the hidden subject: we, the foreigners, existing in a space that is both here and there, and uniquely our own.

记：

四月底，赶在毕业之前，某位的怂恿之下，去探了探2024威尼斯双年展的面目。在火车跨过大桥时候隐隐感到，原来威尼斯是两座相望的城。所谓水上之城的地方或许和真实的生活资料的来源并没有太大关系。乘坐水上巴士前往双年展场地的期间，遇到了一位在船舱中用意大利语问路的女士。至于是否是真的在问路，我也无所得知。奇妙之处在于满满的一船游客，除了船员（此时并不在船舱内）竟然没有一人会意大利语。母语使用者在原生的土地上突然失去了语言，这个小事件坐实了Foreigners Everywhere(2024威尼斯双年展的题目) 或许是全球化下旅游城市的应有之义，更是无法不面对的问题。不过面对问题的人是谁？或者说，将这种失语的状态，错位的情绪，视为问题和困境的人是谁？羊群般接踵通过车站，街道，码头的游客——这样的盛景不正是，相关行业的从业者，相关资产的拥有者，威尼斯乃至意大利所求的吗？

无处自处 Foreigners Nowhere 展览的主题旨在对第60届威尼斯双年展策展人阿德里亚诺·佩德罗萨提出的“无处不在的外国人”（Foreigners Everywhere）这一概念进行反思与回应。佩德罗萨借用艺术家群体Claire Fontaine的一系列作品。表面看来，“无处不在的外国人”似乎是以一种反讽的方式：鼓励观众去思考身份的流动性、反对仇外心理、身份政治揭示当今世界复杂交织的文化叙事。佩德罗萨在展览导言中的表述十分有趣：“‘无处不在的外国人’这一表达有多重含义。首先，无论你身处何地，你都会遇到外国人——他们/我们无处不在。其次，无论你在哪里，深层次而言，你总是一个真正的、发自内心的外国人。”

这样的表述可以理解为：佩德罗萨将 “外国人”肢解为了纯粹的个人体验。于是在外部的外国人，和个体内部的“外国人”，在个体层面达到了某种统一，困境似乎也就不存在。也可以理解为：一种单纯的观察性表述，不过在这种表述中都有‘个人’的主体。不管如何解读，似乎都暗示着某种隐藏的“外国人无处不在”这一句口号式的表达逐渐退化另一句口号式的废话：“每个人都是外国人。”  

尽管我们常说这个时代因前所未有的流动性和文化交流而著称，但难以想象有一种流动性是完全的乱流，毫无逻辑和章法，完全不被记录的。似乎人的流动被护照记录，资本的流动似乎更加白纸黑字，也很难一种文化交流是彻底脱离审查和监管的。如果每个人都平等的是外国人，那么为何要讨论这个问题？外国人何以成为问题？又能得出怎样的结论？这样的思路掩盖了真正的问题——谁是外国人？是什么驱使他们成为外国人？这也反应了现下流行的所谓的进步和左翼思维逻辑，将社会困境和难题用某种恐怖症phobia来表达。因为在这样一种逻辑中，一旦是phobia，就无法也不必继续还原的了，恐怖症phobia已经是个人乃至私人的领域，有效的公共讨论无法展开，更甚暗示着某种生物性和必然性。在艺术领域或许有一个相关表现为，大量艺术家、以某种创伤为主题，更有甚者，认为创伤是创作的基底，成为艺术家的某种神秘的先决条件。创伤创作（trauma making），和恐怖症Phobia 都是自我循环的论证，通过消除外部所制造的困境得以成立，那么外部则需要是一个持续制造困境的外部，否则内部就无法完成循环。内外看似形成了相互依存的对立关系，实则只是绝对自证的内部的对外投射，并没有真实的交互。

同理，打着“反对仇外情绪” anti-xenophobia的旗号，已经是站到了“主权者”的立场上。将“每个人”简单地等同化，可能会模糊实际存在的斗争与差异。反讽作为一种创作方法得以成立的重要基础在于预期（语言）与现实的矛盾和背离，而自我循环的论证是不存在矛盾可言的，即使有，也只是为了顺利完成论证而设置的虚假矛盾。更重要的是，对于真正的外国人来说，他们的困境不是与偶像化的敌人进行的“史诗般”的战争，而是存在于日常生活的无数个瞬间里。 这是想做这个Foreigners Nowhere 展的重要理由，当然可能最重要的理由是因为我也是外国人，对于美国而言。Nowhere在我看来，不是悲观的对于被动接受现实的处境的描述，不只是左右难为，其中隐含着的是某种不被现有立场拘束，塑造全新身份的可能性，毕竟我/我们/或许所有人，有没有可能既是外乡人也是本地人呢？毕竟这是用最朴素的常识就可以得到的答案。

---对于一个以国家馆为基本单位的国际艺术展而言，’外国人‘早就是当代艺术架构中重要的环节，与其说批判这样的提法，不如提问：为什么在如今的欧洲的视角看来，外国人终于成为了问题。欧洲的所谓集体右转也早就明喻了，艺术的问题也都是艺术之外的问题。