Street on the walk

Curators: Yang Li and Jingwen Weng 

19 January to 4 February 2022 

It starts by looking at pedestrians who get lost in their headphones or commutes, those who forget about their motion, the path taken and are forgotten by others passing by. This phenomenon which accelerates the apartness of city life is prevalent in fast-growing cities like London. Paying exclusive attention to the single object has led us to overlook what is in between. 

However, it is the routes taken whilst moving through a city, the interaction this entails between people and the environment around them that tell the story of a place, rather than the beginning and end points of a journey.

Through the works in this exhibition we explore these interactions and connections, of which those in motion on the streets often remain entirely unaware.

The artworks by six Asian artists on display here reflect on the motion of walking through everyday practice involving different media. They reveal existence in the relationship and interaction of between, around, and among people rather than the presence of an object or subject. Walking is not merely a means of mobility. This exhibition is designed to strike the consciousness and refocus us on the primary means of human locomotion. We aspire to see how walking circulates the connection between the exhibition venue and the High Road beyond the limitations of the gallery space - how the street is formed through walking.

This exhibition was produced through the Willesden Gallery Curators open call 2022.

Artists 

Da Xiao, Feng Feng, Naoki Honjo, Ka Yuet Lau, Wang Lu, Yu Yang 

Follow: Yang Li IG@happynoheya, Jingwen Weng IG@jingwenweng_