BOISBUCHET RESIDENCY PROGRAMME
HE WANG
SEASON 2022
He Wang from Kunst Hochschule Kassel, and Callie Charlier and Gwangmin Lee from École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs together hoped to find a way through this project to allow people from different cultural backgrounds to strengthen communication and exchanges with each other in today’s daily urban life.
Inspired by the white corona virus test tents – synonymous with separation, sickness, and even death – which could be seen around the world during the pandemic, He Wang built a simple shadow tent using local bamboo and recycled materials from the workshop. As people now return to social life, He turned a site of suspicion, fear, and anxiety into one where more people can come together to tell and share their stories and cultures with each other.
“Stories and shadow play have been in existence for a long time in many cultures around the world and are also part of almost everyone’s childhood memories.”
He performed a shadow play in his tent based upon the experiences he had had at Boisbuchet at the end of his one-week residency. By doing so, he sought to build connections between people through their commonalities.
“We are very grateful for a week at Boisbuchet. Here, the combination of nature and humanity effectively promotes the occurrence of artistic creation.”