Residency in which the artists reflected on their time as artists-in-residence at Artspace 501, Chongqing, China.
'Ghosts move about me with Patched Histories' was an immersive experience filled with what the artist felt were two of the most powerfully coded objects encountered by humans: food and money. The title was taken from a poem written by Davenport during his residency, bringing together ideas of communication lost in translation, westerner’s views and fears of China, and his personal observations of the importance of family in the Chongqing community. The text was presented as a spreadsheet on a computer in the Centre’s resource space and on wallpaper which decorated the residency studio.
The wallpaper set the scene for Smith’s performance, based upon her own residency, focusing on the idea of being an insider looking in, observing culture and habits of local individuals without knowledge of their language. Smith played host & tour guide to the installation to address the idea of absence/presence and reality/fiction.
Live chickens were also brought into the space during the preview night to act as a deliberate reminder of the environment of Chongqing.