Paris-based Chinese artist Shen Yuan is known for installations that use theirf spatial power to involve the viewer. “Hurried Words” combines two works that draw the viewer into her exploration of language, dialogue and object association.

Entering the room, the viewer is confronted by a tangle of hair dryers hanging from the ceiling. They go on and off spontaneously, filling the room with momentary blasts of air and noise. Some have fabric “tongues” which dart out of the nozzles like party poppers. Their fits of frenzied communication fail, as the “tongues” betray not words but just more “hot air” —reflecting the artist’s struggle of living abroad in France and learning a foreign language. Here, the “hurried words” are redundant, lost in haste and confusion.

Round the corner and see a landscape in the form of a huge hairbrush strung with wig hair of various textures and ethnicities. The hairdryers appear comic, providing a soundscape for viewing this absurd brush too large to lift. The hairs, wound around matchstick-like bristles, are somewhat disarming in their resemblance to a collection of shrunken heads. Shen describes them as a growing crowd or forest. Their power comes from the role-reversal of an ordinary object become big enough to dwarf the viewer.

The absurdity of small objects writ large also reflects the idea that this brush combs through the difficulties of different experiences.

Shen succeeds by transforming inanimate everyday objects to engage with her audience. The installation, however, is unfortunately let down by its size and placement.

By Sophie McKinnon

DETAILS:
Where: UCCA
When: Through Jul. 18
Web: www.ucca.org.cn
How Much: ¥15