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shanzhai lyric, the incomplete poem

scenography and publication for exhibition and performance by shanzhai lyric.
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1 – the encounter of square and circle locates the installation.

2 – visitors are invited to try on shanzhai shirts and look through related reading materials. (image credit: daniel terna)

3 – bootleg t-shirt text as an embodied poem. (image credit: daniel terna)

4 – garments move between the different reading structures. (image credit: daniel terna)

5 – “in garbled coded letters from afar, they convey the mashed-up experiences and contradictory narratives of longing, desire, exile, and estrangement.” (image credit: daniel terna)

6 – the reading station where shirts are selected. (image credit: daniel terna)

7 – “shanzhai t-shirt text disturbs the boundaries between public and private.” (image credit: daniel terna)

8 – the transcribing station where shirts are read aloud. (image credit: daniel terna)

9 – the reading apparatus accommodates the display of the shirts and their perusal as documents. (image credit: daniel terna)

10 – unfinished lumber creates the scaffold for the garments. (image credit: daniel terna)

for the exhibition at abrons arts center common room designed a reading apparatus and meeting space for the evolving archive of shanzhai (counterfeit) garments.

the installation is conceived as a sequence of actions with an open framework, the reading apparatus and two circular platforms, the transcribing station and the reading station to allow the reading and display of the garments in multiple ways. the framework accommodates the unsorted archive of garments and other reference material. shirts selected from the framework are worn and read on the larger platform stage. after the garment has been transcribed the selected items are then placed in a growing pile on the smaller platform.

the supporting grid structure references the coffered ceiling of the space. the hung garments allude to airing laundry from windows and across fire escapes and display their messages as headlines from bulletin boards or newspapers. the installation defines a procession through the open space of the gallery from archive to text.

a common circular accompanied the exhibition guest edited by a shanzhai lyric and published by common room. the circular was launched with peripatetic readings extending from abrons arts center to 465 grand street.

last updated November 5, 2024