Wishy-Washy Bodies

Bigo, still from Draw With a Mirror (2017)

An exhibition by Bigo
Curated by Mijoo Park

Opening Reception: Friday, Oct. 27, 7 to 10 pm
Participatory performances every Saturday at 4 pm

In Wishy-Washy Bodies, artist Bigo interrogates the agency of the body and the boundaries of our corporeal existence. Her works probe the ways we delineate the body, from units of measure, to standardizing data, to the spaces between one body and another. Through sculptures, performances, a video installation, and an artist book, Wishy-Washy Bodies troubles the borders between our physical selves and the worlds we inhabit.

The artist book, How to Serially Section a Body (2017), takes up the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI)’s online log of medical data to consider the ways in which our three-dimensional bodies are flattened into digital information. The book’s form, typography, and graphics play with the medical logs—for example, the page thickness of 0.2mm invokes KISTI’s cross-sectional images taken 0.2mm beneath the surface of the skin—inviting readers to experience the human body as displaced and objectified on every page. Meanwhile, the installation Draw with a Mirror (2017) will feature wearable mirror sculptures and an accompanying two-channel video of the artist and a professional dancer tracing each other using the sculptures. Drawing out our relationships to space, Bigo challenges conventional ways of communicating and perceiving embodiment, extending the body beyond its fleshy limits.

This exhibition is part of an ongoing collaboration between Centre A and the RAT school of ART, an alternative study program for artists in Seoul, Korea. Every year, Centre A sends one artist-in-residence to spend three months working in Seoul and, in turn, hosts a show by a RAT school member in Vancouver. The Canada-Korea Residency and Exchange program highlights the role of contemporary artists in making space for collaborative relationships, critical conversations, and cultural productivity across national borders. Wishy-Washy Bodies welcomes Vancouver audiences to take part in this transnational conversation. As part of sculpture and performance piece t00000rso (2016), visitors may engage with participatory performances taking place in the gallery every Saturday at 4 pm.

Join us Friday, October 27th at 7 pm for the opening night of Wishy-Washy Bodies, featuring a participatory performance by Bigo. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 12 pm to 5 pm.

PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

Curator’s Talk with Mijoo Park
Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 5 pm
Emily Carr University

Opening Reception and Participatory Performance
Centre A
Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 pm

Artist Talk with Bigo
Centre A
Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3 pm