ORIENTAL VISTA GALLERY

FORGOTTEN PLACES (group)

OVERVIEW

EXHIBITION SYNOPSIS

Forgetting comes in many permutations. There is the simple absent-minded forgetting, the blocking out of certain painful memories, or the gradual more organic fading of things that we have no reason to keep in the forequarters of our brain. We as a society tend to like to forget places which are seen as unpleasant or which remind us of a past which is somewhat backward or unsophisticated.

Often these sites hold the traces of a golden industrial or historical era, but have maybe seen better days ¬– left out of the process of urban renewal. These places hold fragments of history, keeping secrets within their walls. In an era of radical change they help us maintain a link between past and future and serve as a reminder not to forget the past.

The show was actually inspired by a project initiated by Qian Rong, to explore the history of Fuxing Island, it’s historical past and it’s implications for the present. In the series of ink paintings he examines how events which happened decades ago on this small insignificant island hold great weight for the present state of affairs.

Chai Yiming looks at our impressive capacity for forgetting with ink depictions of vehicles speeding along a highway, a metaphor for speed and those that are left in the wake of development.

Christophe Demaitre examines the layering of history and modernity in the urban fabric, the disappearance of certain communities and the transience of local history.

Robert Lee Davis, looks at the ever changing face of the city where old buildings go down and new buildings come up offering new vantage points from which to view the city.