Dr. Rachel Marsden | University of the Arts London (original) (raw)

PhD Thesis by Dr. Rachel Marsden

Initiated from discussions of key curators and exhibitions at the end of the Cultural Revolution,... more Initiated from discussions of key curators and exhibitions at the end of the
Cultural Revolution, this thesis explores cultural translation through
networked curatorial practices in the Chinese context since 1980. In
response to increasing local (Chinese) to global (international) exchange,
termed as ‘glocal’, I examine different curatorial practices and strategies
used to translate exhibitions of avant-garde and contemporary Chinese art
towards the development and definition of the role of the transcultural
curator. A framework for translation is developed from Homi K. Bhabha’s
three-tiered, postcolonial methodology of ‘Third Space’ in parallel with Ray
Oldenburg’s theory of third place, whilst rooted in the development of social
and cultural networks within Fei Xiaotong’s concept of Chineseness. From
these perspectives, it is argued that guanxi self-reflexively provides a basis
through which networked curatorial practices can be understood.

As a non-Chinese curator and researcher, this thesis is crucially informed by
a practice-led component to the research methodology. Responding to
China’s unique moment of “museumification”, I establish The Temporary to
actively and explicitly reflect on my curatorial practice in relation to research
findings. This platform functions as a site of “research curating” (based on
the construction of networks of practice) and “curating research” (mapping
the action archive), to test and evaluate curatorial strategies, whilst revealing
a new internal logic of cultural translation in the Chinese context.

This nexus of research explored through theory, concept and practice aims
to create a unique set of definitions and arguments to define the role of the
transcultural curator. In turn, it presents a series of considerations to be
implemented when curating exhibitions of contemporary Chinese art in an
international context whilst contributing to the ongoing debate in the field.

Books & Book Chapters by Dr. Rachel Marsden

Art Writing in Crisis, Sternberg Press, Aug 2021

This volume presents contributions from a broad range of authors who address the social and polit... more This volume presents contributions from a broad range of authors who address the social and political dimensions of art and art writing in the contemporary context, and the ways in which new writing and publishing practices promote critical engagement among readerships as never before.

The Centre: On Art and Urbanism in China, Jul 2019

Book chapter in 'The Centre: On Art and Urbanism in China'. Presenting a collection of newly comm... more Book chapter in 'The Centre: On Art and Urbanism in China'. Presenting a collection of newly commissioned texts that examine modes of creative production, exhibition, curating, collecting and urban transformation, against a backdrop of critical perspectives on the historical moment and speculative futures. This volume features a range of key Chinese practitioners working today across art, design and architecture, and acts as an entry point to ongoing engagement with contemporary China.

Edited by Annika Aitken, Simon Maidment, Ewan McEoin and Megan Patty.

ISBN: 9781925432688

E-catalogue for ‘The Temporary: 01’, the inaugural exhibition for 'The Temporary' curatorial exch... more E-catalogue for ‘The Temporary: 01’, the inaugural exhibition for 'The Temporary' curatorial exchange platform, examining 'Architectures of Change' - “temporary” daily negotiations of space and place within cityscapes, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, London, Birmingham, Manchester, LA, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Bristol, Rimini, Berlin, and Amsterdam; architectures (of change) and urban development, and the influence of sound on experiences between China, East Asia and the West, through collaborations between artists, photographers, architects, designers and sound artists.

http://www.thetemporary.org.uk

Yuan Yuan , 2016

Book chapter for the 2016 monograph published by Edouard Malingue Gallery on the occasion of Yuan... more Book chapter for the 2016 monograph published by Edouard Malingue Gallery on the occasion of Yuan Yuan's solo exhibition 'There is no There There', 21 October - 5 December 2015, Paris.

IN TRANSITION: The Artistic and Curatorial Residency, Jul 2015

A catalogue I organized in extension of the exhibition ANTI-HUMANISM which I curated with the art... more A catalogue I organized in extension of the exhibition ANTI-HUMANISM which I curated with the artist Lu Yang from China.

"ANTI-HUMANISM", 2015

Included as part of the "ANTI-HUMANISM" exhibition catalogue for Chinese artist Lu Yang's solo sh... more Included as part of the "ANTI-HUMANISM" exhibition catalogue for Chinese artist Lu Yang's solo show curated by Jakob Kudsk Steensen.

British curator and Ph.d. Rachel Marsden has conducted a personal interview with Lu Yang in conversation with Vanessa Bartlett on the “Spirit” of machines. The text also dives into issues related to the representation of mental -and health- disabilities in China.

e-book: Wu Chi-Tsung, Aug 2013

e-book: 'Haze and Fog' by Cao Fei, Nov 2013

Papers by Dr. Rachel Marsden

Initiated from discussions of key curators and exhibitions at the end of the Cultural Revolution,... more Initiated from discussions of key curators and exhibitions at the end of the Cultural Revolution, this thesis explores cultural translation through networked curatorial practices in the Chinese context since 1980. In response to increasing local (Chinese) to global (international) exchange, termed as ‘glocal’, I examine different curatorial practices and strategies used to translate exhibitions of avant-garde and contemporary Chinese art towards the development and definition of the role of the transcultural curator. A framework for translation is developed from Homi K. Bhabha’s three-tiered, postcolonial methodology of ‘Third Space’ in parallel with Ray Oldenburg’s theory of third place, whilst rooted in the development of social and cultural networks within Fei Xiaotong’s concept of Chineseness. From these perspectives, it is argued that guanxi self-reflexively provides a basis through which networked curatorial practices can be understood. As a non-Chinese curator and researcher,...

ABSTRACT This paper will discuss how the identity of contemporary Chinese art “translates” across... more ABSTRACT This paper will discuss how the identity of contemporary Chinese art “translates” across different curatorial platforms and sites for display and exhibition, in a response to the public audience’s need to look beyond the local, regional and national to the international sphere. I will examine interdisciplinary examples and perspectives of “translation” and interpretation, such as the use of participatory programming and projects to encourage new “transcultural”, rather than cross-cultural, social relationships, networks and global exchanges between China and the West. I will cite one key example of current practice, specifically the 8th Shanghai Biennale entitled ‘Rehearsal’, in reference to its auxiliary events and exhibitions including the West Heavens exhibition ‘Place-Time-Play: India-China Contemporary Art’ and their additional lecture series, and ‘International Art in the Cities and X-positions’ by e-space co-lab, a ‘Biennials dialogue’, online conversational exchange and collaboration between artists, curators, designers and architects examining each of the thematics relating to ‘Rehearsal’ and ‘Touched’ at the Liverpool Biennial 2010. Together, they will provide examinations into how contemporary Chinese art is analysed, negotiated and presented to the international public audience in today’s changing domain of cultural globalisation. These projects will highlight questions as to how these exhibitions and events “translate” to the Western audience, and whether there is a new type of interpretive curatorial language being created through which to understand and deconstruct the artistic practices and artworks on display. Referencing recently coined terminologies, I will unravel the problematics and key perspectives that are open to consideration and critique as part of the “transcultural” curatorial process.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chinese artists began to leave China, emigrating to the West t... more In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chinese artists began to leave China, emigrating to the West to some of the world’s most established cultural hubs including the cities of Paris, Berlin and New York. This provided the opportunity for self-reflection, individual and collaborative reflective experiences on their identity, home country, origin, history, society, politics, and in turn, developed a new globalised Chinese artistic and curatorial practice that negotiated, to them, unknown Western paradigms and the canons of Western-centric art historical discourse. They were responsible for building a new “transcultural” Chinese art history that was to change the way in which Chinese art was translated.

All translations are subject to applied, different socio-historic contexts where ‘a heritage often produces a spectacle of essentialist national identity’ (Coombes 1992: 488), which in this paper is termed as international exoticism and “Chineseness” in the eyes of the West. This exoticism is part of what is known as the “disappearing world” phenomenon, where the West is seen to fear the over immersion, thus loss, of its own culture and heritage, and so looks beyond its own locality for a new fragile exoticism, a world yet unpresented through ‘difference’ (Coombes 1992: 491) - in this case China. Whilst it may seem to be stating the obvious, curators should try to act objectively and not get swayed by this exoticism or concept of “tradition”. As Coombes states,

‘…the cultural object can never be an empty vessel waiting to be filled with meaning, but rather is a repository replete with meanings that are never imminent but always contingent.’ (Coombes 1992: 489)

This paper will examine, as a case study, the representation of China as part of the renowned and longest-standing international art festival, the Venice Biennale (45th Venice Biennale entitled Cardinal Points of the Arts, Venice, Italy (14 June – 10 October 1993)) - a noteworthy moment in the translation of contemporary Chinese art on the international art stage. Entitled Passagio a Oriente (Passage to the East), this exhibition of purely avant-garde painting was presented through a survey exhibition using the curatorial strategies of international exoticism and “Chineseness”, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva with Helena Kontova with consultation from Li Xianting and Francesca Dal Lago. Through analysing the collaborative curatorial process employed here, and critical public opinion, I will aim to question, is this case study when Chinese art became contemporary and global within the international art world? Can curators recognise the cultural, political and economic infrastructures inherent in the artist’s artworks or objects on a local level, in China, before it is “transculturally” translated in the West? Or are we heading towards operating as a catch-all category where diverse artworks are grouped together for cultural plurality (Maharaj 1994:29)? Will this produce homogenized curatorial consequences? Does the acknowledgement of dialectic and cultural differences/nuances always mean that it will be translated as “foreign” or Chinese? Or is assimilation and adaptation needed as part of the curatorial strategy? Ultimately, can we escape a “Chineseness” of contemporary Chinese art?

Coombes, Annie (1992) ‘Inventing the ‘Postcolonial’: Hybridity and Constituency in Contemporary Curating’. In Donald Preziosi, (Ed.) (1998) The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology (pp. 486-497). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Maharaj, Sarat (1994) ‘Perfidious Fidelity: The Untranslatability of the Other’. In Jean Fisher (Ed.) Global Visions: towards a new internationalism in the visual arts (pp. 28-35), London: Kala Press in association with The Institute of International Visual Arts.

This paper discusses how the identity of contemporary Chinese art "translates" across different c... more This paper discusses how the identity of contemporary Chinese art "translates" across different curatorial platforms and sites for display and exhibition. Rather than looking at the traditional curatorial platform, that of the contemporary art exhibition, usually the key focus of an art happening, I am going to focus on its auxiliary, ulterior and alternative curatorial sites used as translational tools -the additional interdisciplinary and participatory events programming, and use of fast-paced online digital technologies. Citing two examples linked to the 8 th Shanghai Biennale 'Rehearsal', and West Heavens 'Place--Time--Play: India--China Contemporary

Arts Writing by Dr. Rachel Marsden

Manchester International Festival, Jul 6, 2021

The Double Negative, Nov 22, 2021

SOURCE Photographic Review, 2018

Review of photobooks 'Experiential Relationship Vol. 1' by Pixy Liao and 'The Bliss of Conformity... more Review of photobooks 'Experiential Relationship Vol. 1' by Pixy Liao and 'The Bliss of Conformity' by Yingguang Guo.

VAULT Magazine, 2018

Book review of 'Macau Days' by John Young and Brian Castro

Frieze Magazine, Aug 4, 2017

20 years after Hong Kong’s handover to China, a new generation of artists dive into the city-stat... more 20 years after Hong Kong’s handover to China, a new generation of artists dive into the city-state’s unknown futures and landscapes of possibility. [A review of the group exhibition 'From Ocean to Horizon' at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA), Manchester, UK (7 July – 29 October 2017).]

Initiated from discussions of key curators and exhibitions at the end of the Cultural Revolution,... more Initiated from discussions of key curators and exhibitions at the end of the
Cultural Revolution, this thesis explores cultural translation through
networked curatorial practices in the Chinese context since 1980. In
response to increasing local (Chinese) to global (international) exchange,
termed as ‘glocal’, I examine different curatorial practices and strategies
used to translate exhibitions of avant-garde and contemporary Chinese art
towards the development and definition of the role of the transcultural
curator. A framework for translation is developed from Homi K. Bhabha’s
three-tiered, postcolonial methodology of ‘Third Space’ in parallel with Ray
Oldenburg’s theory of third place, whilst rooted in the development of social
and cultural networks within Fei Xiaotong’s concept of Chineseness. From
these perspectives, it is argued that guanxi self-reflexively provides a basis
through which networked curatorial practices can be understood.

As a non-Chinese curator and researcher, this thesis is crucially informed by
a practice-led component to the research methodology. Responding to
China’s unique moment of “museumification”, I establish The Temporary to
actively and explicitly reflect on my curatorial practice in relation to research
findings. This platform functions as a site of “research curating” (based on
the construction of networks of practice) and “curating research” (mapping
the action archive), to test and evaluate curatorial strategies, whilst revealing
a new internal logic of cultural translation in the Chinese context.

This nexus of research explored through theory, concept and practice aims
to create a unique set of definitions and arguments to define the role of the
transcultural curator. In turn, it presents a series of considerations to be
implemented when curating exhibitions of contemporary Chinese art in an
international context whilst contributing to the ongoing debate in the field.

Art Writing in Crisis, Sternberg Press, Aug 2021

This volume presents contributions from a broad range of authors who address the social and polit... more This volume presents contributions from a broad range of authors who address the social and political dimensions of art and art writing in the contemporary context, and the ways in which new writing and publishing practices promote critical engagement among readerships as never before.

The Centre: On Art and Urbanism in China, Jul 2019

Book chapter in 'The Centre: On Art and Urbanism in China'. Presenting a collection of newly comm... more Book chapter in 'The Centre: On Art and Urbanism in China'. Presenting a collection of newly commissioned texts that examine modes of creative production, exhibition, curating, collecting and urban transformation, against a backdrop of critical perspectives on the historical moment and speculative futures. This volume features a range of key Chinese practitioners working today across art, design and architecture, and acts as an entry point to ongoing engagement with contemporary China.

Edited by Annika Aitken, Simon Maidment, Ewan McEoin and Megan Patty.

ISBN: 9781925432688

E-catalogue for ‘The Temporary: 01’, the inaugural exhibition for 'The Temporary' curatorial exch... more E-catalogue for ‘The Temporary: 01’, the inaugural exhibition for 'The Temporary' curatorial exchange platform, examining 'Architectures of Change' - “temporary” daily negotiations of space and place within cityscapes, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, London, Birmingham, Manchester, LA, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Bristol, Rimini, Berlin, and Amsterdam; architectures (of change) and urban development, and the influence of sound on experiences between China, East Asia and the West, through collaborations between artists, photographers, architects, designers and sound artists.

http://www.thetemporary.org.uk

Yuan Yuan , 2016

Book chapter for the 2016 monograph published by Edouard Malingue Gallery on the occasion of Yuan... more Book chapter for the 2016 monograph published by Edouard Malingue Gallery on the occasion of Yuan Yuan's solo exhibition 'There is no There There', 21 October - 5 December 2015, Paris.

IN TRANSITION: The Artistic and Curatorial Residency, Jul 2015

A catalogue I organized in extension of the exhibition ANTI-HUMANISM which I curated with the art... more A catalogue I organized in extension of the exhibition ANTI-HUMANISM which I curated with the artist Lu Yang from China.

"ANTI-HUMANISM", 2015

Included as part of the "ANTI-HUMANISM" exhibition catalogue for Chinese artist Lu Yang's solo sh... more Included as part of the "ANTI-HUMANISM" exhibition catalogue for Chinese artist Lu Yang's solo show curated by Jakob Kudsk Steensen.

British curator and Ph.d. Rachel Marsden has conducted a personal interview with Lu Yang in conversation with Vanessa Bartlett on the “Spirit” of machines. The text also dives into issues related to the representation of mental -and health- disabilities in China.

e-book: Wu Chi-Tsung, Aug 2013

e-book: 'Haze and Fog' by Cao Fei, Nov 2013

Initiated from discussions of key curators and exhibitions at the end of the Cultural Revolution,... more Initiated from discussions of key curators and exhibitions at the end of the Cultural Revolution, this thesis explores cultural translation through networked curatorial practices in the Chinese context since 1980. In response to increasing local (Chinese) to global (international) exchange, termed as ‘glocal’, I examine different curatorial practices and strategies used to translate exhibitions of avant-garde and contemporary Chinese art towards the development and definition of the role of the transcultural curator. A framework for translation is developed from Homi K. Bhabha’s three-tiered, postcolonial methodology of ‘Third Space’ in parallel with Ray Oldenburg’s theory of third place, whilst rooted in the development of social and cultural networks within Fei Xiaotong’s concept of Chineseness. From these perspectives, it is argued that guanxi self-reflexively provides a basis through which networked curatorial practices can be understood. As a non-Chinese curator and researcher,...

ABSTRACT This paper will discuss how the identity of contemporary Chinese art “translates” across... more ABSTRACT This paper will discuss how the identity of contemporary Chinese art “translates” across different curatorial platforms and sites for display and exhibition, in a response to the public audience’s need to look beyond the local, regional and national to the international sphere. I will examine interdisciplinary examples and perspectives of “translation” and interpretation, such as the use of participatory programming and projects to encourage new “transcultural”, rather than cross-cultural, social relationships, networks and global exchanges between China and the West. I will cite one key example of current practice, specifically the 8th Shanghai Biennale entitled ‘Rehearsal’, in reference to its auxiliary events and exhibitions including the West Heavens exhibition ‘Place-Time-Play: India-China Contemporary Art’ and their additional lecture series, and ‘International Art in the Cities and X-positions’ by e-space co-lab, a ‘Biennials dialogue’, online conversational exchange and collaboration between artists, curators, designers and architects examining each of the thematics relating to ‘Rehearsal’ and ‘Touched’ at the Liverpool Biennial 2010. Together, they will provide examinations into how contemporary Chinese art is analysed, negotiated and presented to the international public audience in today’s changing domain of cultural globalisation. These projects will highlight questions as to how these exhibitions and events “translate” to the Western audience, and whether there is a new type of interpretive curatorial language being created through which to understand and deconstruct the artistic practices and artworks on display. Referencing recently coined terminologies, I will unravel the problematics and key perspectives that are open to consideration and critique as part of the “transcultural” curatorial process.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chinese artists began to leave China, emigrating to the West t... more In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chinese artists began to leave China, emigrating to the West to some of the world’s most established cultural hubs including the cities of Paris, Berlin and New York. This provided the opportunity for self-reflection, individual and collaborative reflective experiences on their identity, home country, origin, history, society, politics, and in turn, developed a new globalised Chinese artistic and curatorial practice that negotiated, to them, unknown Western paradigms and the canons of Western-centric art historical discourse. They were responsible for building a new “transcultural” Chinese art history that was to change the way in which Chinese art was translated.

All translations are subject to applied, different socio-historic contexts where ‘a heritage often produces a spectacle of essentialist national identity’ (Coombes 1992: 488), which in this paper is termed as international exoticism and “Chineseness” in the eyes of the West. This exoticism is part of what is known as the “disappearing world” phenomenon, where the West is seen to fear the over immersion, thus loss, of its own culture and heritage, and so looks beyond its own locality for a new fragile exoticism, a world yet unpresented through ‘difference’ (Coombes 1992: 491) - in this case China. Whilst it may seem to be stating the obvious, curators should try to act objectively and not get swayed by this exoticism or concept of “tradition”. As Coombes states,

‘…the cultural object can never be an empty vessel waiting to be filled with meaning, but rather is a repository replete with meanings that are never imminent but always contingent.’ (Coombes 1992: 489)

This paper will examine, as a case study, the representation of China as part of the renowned and longest-standing international art festival, the Venice Biennale (45th Venice Biennale entitled Cardinal Points of the Arts, Venice, Italy (14 June – 10 October 1993)) - a noteworthy moment in the translation of contemporary Chinese art on the international art stage. Entitled Passagio a Oriente (Passage to the East), this exhibition of purely avant-garde painting was presented through a survey exhibition using the curatorial strategies of international exoticism and “Chineseness”, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva with Helena Kontova with consultation from Li Xianting and Francesca Dal Lago. Through analysing the collaborative curatorial process employed here, and critical public opinion, I will aim to question, is this case study when Chinese art became contemporary and global within the international art world? Can curators recognise the cultural, political and economic infrastructures inherent in the artist’s artworks or objects on a local level, in China, before it is “transculturally” translated in the West? Or are we heading towards operating as a catch-all category where diverse artworks are grouped together for cultural plurality (Maharaj 1994:29)? Will this produce homogenized curatorial consequences? Does the acknowledgement of dialectic and cultural differences/nuances always mean that it will be translated as “foreign” or Chinese? Or is assimilation and adaptation needed as part of the curatorial strategy? Ultimately, can we escape a “Chineseness” of contemporary Chinese art?

Coombes, Annie (1992) ‘Inventing the ‘Postcolonial’: Hybridity and Constituency in Contemporary Curating’. In Donald Preziosi, (Ed.) (1998) The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology (pp. 486-497). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Maharaj, Sarat (1994) ‘Perfidious Fidelity: The Untranslatability of the Other’. In Jean Fisher (Ed.) Global Visions: towards a new internationalism in the visual arts (pp. 28-35), London: Kala Press in association with The Institute of International Visual Arts.

This paper discusses how the identity of contemporary Chinese art "translates" across different c... more This paper discusses how the identity of contemporary Chinese art "translates" across different curatorial platforms and sites for display and exhibition. Rather than looking at the traditional curatorial platform, that of the contemporary art exhibition, usually the key focus of an art happening, I am going to focus on its auxiliary, ulterior and alternative curatorial sites used as translational tools -the additional interdisciplinary and participatory events programming, and use of fast-paced online digital technologies. Citing two examples linked to the 8 th Shanghai Biennale 'Rehearsal', and West Heavens 'Place--Time--Play: India--China Contemporary

Manchester International Festival, Jul 6, 2021

The Double Negative, Nov 22, 2021

SOURCE Photographic Review, 2018

Review of photobooks 'Experiential Relationship Vol. 1' by Pixy Liao and 'The Bliss of Conformity... more Review of photobooks 'Experiential Relationship Vol. 1' by Pixy Liao and 'The Bliss of Conformity' by Yingguang Guo.

VAULT Magazine, 2018

Book review of 'Macau Days' by John Young and Brian Castro

Frieze Magazine, Aug 4, 2017

20 years after Hong Kong’s handover to China, a new generation of artists dive into the city-stat... more 20 years after Hong Kong’s handover to China, a new generation of artists dive into the city-state’s unknown futures and landscapes of possibility. [A review of the group exhibition 'From Ocean to Horizon' at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA), Manchester, UK (7 July – 29 October 2017).]

LEAP Magazine 32 , Mar 2015

a-n The Artists Information Company website, Jan 27, 2015