Sheng Qi + Evelyn Chen - Fringe Festival 2000

Julie Clarke placing AIDS ribbons for Sheng Qi installation - photo by Nicky Combs, Red Gate Gallery

In 2000 I was the Visual Arts coordinator for Melbourne Fringe Festival. One of my duties was to assist the Chinese artist Sheng Qi with his Ambush from all directions installation at Mass Gallery. Unfortunately he was having difficulty getting a passport to visit Australia, so I was asked by the then Director, Virginia Hyam to come up with a 'creative solution'. My answer was to install the work myself and set up a  chat-line and live feed with Sheng Qi for the opening night. I worked closely (via email and telephone) with Sheng Qi and Brian Wallace, Director of Red Gate Gallery, Beijing in regards to installation elements, which included 2 cubic meters of soil to be formed into the shape of an AIDS ribbon, six 120 x 180cm photographs, one large red silk, a videotape and CD of the music 'ambush from all directions' and a computer for the chat line link-up. I approached the Victorian AIDS Council and the Australian AIDS fund Inc., who donated 1,000 AIDS ribbons and I worked with two Fringe volunteers to shovel a truck load of soil into the gallery. I made a space in the soil to place the TV/VCR for the screening of Sheng Qi's taped performance in which he offered his hand (with amputated finger) for audience members to shake. He amputated his little finger in protest about the events at Tienanmen Square in June 1989. I spread the ribbons over the soil and when Brian Wallace arrived from Beijing we installed Sheng Qi's large-scale photographs.

My digital photograph of an original photograph of Evelyn Chen's performance sent to me by Evelyn in 2000

Apart from organizing a Regional Arts Exhibition and assisting Catherine Woo with her installation I also initiated Trans-actions: bodies in performance by five Melbourne artists, one of which was by Evelyn Chen who did an amazing meditative piece with red colored rice. She very slowly gathered rice in her hands from a small pile installed on the gallery floor. Walked to the silver container, climbed the steps and  allowed the rice to fall gently into it from her hands. When the container was full, the rice spilled from the small hole into a pile on the gallery floor. She repeated her actions, gathering the rice up again and allowing it to fall back into the container. The performance revealed the repetition of life and the pleasure of work as well as drawing attention to internal and external spaces. Information about one of Chen's recent performances may be found here.

Why did I put all this here this morning? Well, I've recently had Shingles and remembered that after Sheng Qi's opening I also had Shingles - stress does terrible things to the body. Maybe finding Evelyn's beautiful images of her extremely calm performance this morning is a reminder to myself and others, to remain engaged, but calm whilst working.