BùXíng is on view at ICA Philadelphia. New exhibitions open on January 11, with a reception from 6 pm to 8 pm. This video is one of the selections in the Open Video Call installation in the mezzanine.
Named for a stubborn Mandarin phrase meaning "can't be done" or "out of the question," BùXíng evolved from improvisations with actors Damon Reaves and Lydia Adler Okrent and photographers Alex Tyson and Christopher Fernando. We used classic strategies of cinematic framing -- such as the shot-reverse shot and the over-the-shoulder shot -- but applied them to still images instead of moving images.
The stills were paired with a scrap of conversation in Mandarin and French. Deliberately lacking subtitles, content fades to the background as form and atmosphere take center stage.
(There's also a tiny dance in it!)
ICA Philadelphia
118 S. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Named for a stubborn Mandarin phrase meaning "can't be done" or "out of the question," BùXíng evolved from improvisations with actors Damon Reaves and Lydia Adler Okrent and photographers Alex Tyson and Christopher Fernando. We used classic strategies of cinematic framing -- such as the shot-reverse shot and the over-the-shoulder shot -- but applied them to still images instead of moving images.
The stills were paired with a scrap of conversation in Mandarin and French. Deliberately lacking subtitles, content fades to the background as form and atmosphere take center stage.
(There's also a tiny dance in it!)
ICA Philadelphia
118 S. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
