From November 1, 2021 to February 20, 2022, Disney and UCCA Lab, a subsidiary of UCCA Group, presented "Curiosity Without Boundaries: Mickey Art Exhibition Global Tour Chengdu Station". Following the successful holding of the first stop of this year's global tour exhibition in Shanghai, China, the world-famous Mickey Art Exhibition will land in the West Courtyard next to Chengdu Ocean Taikoo Liman Plaza, presenting the theme creations of 55 artists from all over the world in an exhibition space that integrates the concept of urban renewal and the style of Sichuan Ancient Architecture, and continues to bring Mickey art experiences full of surprises and curiosities to Chinese audiences.
In 1928, the world's first animated sound film ,Steamboat Willie) was released in New York, and a little mouse dancing to the music, Mickey, entered the public eye and accompanied generations of people. In the past hundred years, with the advancement of society, economy and culture and the changes in the spiritual needs of modern people, Mickey has developed from the protagonist of early animated short films to the representative symbol of today's global popular culture, spanning different cultures and regions, and has a positive impact on various fields such as film and television, art, fashion, and popular culture. Mickey's curiosity and spirit of not being afraid of challenges drive the image to evolve, spread joy and friendship around the world, and create Mickey's current significance. In 2018, to celebrate Mickey's 90th anniversary, the "Mickey: The True Original" art exhibition began in New York, and in 2020, the tour to Tokyo, Japan, with the theme upgraded to "Mickey: The True Original Exhibition & Beyond"; this time, the "Curious Boundless: Mickey Art Exhibition Global Tour Chengdu Station" in addition to retaining the works of important artists in New York and Tokyo, Nearly 30 outstanding Chinese contemporary artists (including 5 new artists from Chengdu Station) are invited to carry out new creative practices around Mickey and activate Mickey's infinite definition in the present.
Unlike the Shanghai Station, which separates domestic and foreign artists from different areas, the exhibition space at Chengdu Station starts from the theme of "Curiosity without Boundaries", integrates Chinese and Western art works into one, and intersperses them with staggered display and display. With the collaboration of the curatorial team and space designers, the art space covers two theme spaces of "modern city" and "classical garden", including the common urban landscape "street garden" and "landscape walkway", as well as the "hall" and "back garden" in traditional architecture, etc. The collision of modern and traditional works echoes the fusion of Chinese and Western works. The overall sense of space that is also dynamic and static means that it echoes with daily life in terms of the atmosphere and cultural meaning of the field, refers to the development of the city's modernity, and at the same time contains the paradigm of chinese garden creation, stimulates the curiosity of the viewer from the heart with the observable and perceptible spatial transformation, and integrates the perceptual exploration of "Mickey" in the "Garden Tour". 55 domestic and foreign artists at home and abroad have shaped the new look of Mickey's old friends through painting, sculpture, calligraphy, installation, sound, intangible cultural heritage, new media, documents and other media, and nearly 30 Chinese artists/groups have participated in the creation, showing Mickey's multiple connections with China.
The two themed spaces of "Modern City" and "Classical Garden" include works by important international artists presented in New York and Tokyo, as well as Chinese modern and contemporary artists specially invited by UCCA Lab, who have created special works on the image of Mickey according to their different cultural backgrounds in the East and the West. In the "Modern City" themed space on the ground floor, artist Daniel Arsham's "Hidden Mickey" adopts its signature style of extending out of the wall to reconstruct Mickey's classic image in people's minds; in Li Gang's "Bee", the artist replaces glasses, magnifying glasses, windows and lens glass on the TV set with sugar "lenses", and through the sugar mirror to remake the beautiful world recorded by others, creating a way between the audience and reality." Sweet Filter", which reconciles people's emotions with reality; artist Alake Shilling's work A Beautiful Day with Minnie and Daisy, who extracts artistic elements from nature and memory, placing Minnie in a fantasy world that feels tender and intimate; Ariana Papademetropoulos uses a photograph from her grandmother's mitch's treasure house as "My Mother's Bedroom in 1979" Lu Pingyuan's work "Hulu" draws inspiration from the traditional Chinese mythological concept of life, combining Mickey's head shape with the gourd, and also through this peculiar imagery, Chinese and Western cultures blend with each other in the work; artist Shinique Smith's "Bundle Variant No. 0026 (An Ode to My First Love Mickey Mouse) constructs a large soft sculpture of a Mickey plush doll from a different era to create something that the audience "wants to embrace"; in 3000% Mickey Brick Bear, Darren Romanelli wraps a large trendy toy in recycled Disney textiles from different eras, "freely exploring Mickey and reinterpreting its meaning". The "classical garden" on the second floor also shows the creative works of a number of domestic and foreign artists, in Chen Man's work "Foot Soaking Mickey", the artist combines the healthy foot soaking culture with Chinese characteristics and watching TV in a humorous way, thus highlighting the "cross-cultural, cross-regional" characteristics contained in Mickey's image; Keiichi Tana regards "Smiling Mickey in the Dark Theater" as the "starting point of all creations", and creates the color psychedelic painting "Mickey's Journey to Japan" based on childhood memories and fantasies Ning Xiaoli's work "Qi Zhi" borrows the traditional gold craftsmanship to reconstruct the porcelain fragments of various kiln sites in China into Mickey's head, thus giving Mickey the cultural significance of reassoring historical fragments scattered in different regions and different eras and giving a new life. In "Mickey's Bamboo Drawing", artist Chen Jie presents a silhouette-style image of Mickey using the traditional painting method of splashing ink and hitting water, or lets Mickey tilt his head slightly to stare at the bamboo branches in the air, making him a curious and lively guest who breaks into the ethereal and quiet oriental aesthetic picture.
Five new Chinese artists have been added to Chengdu to reinterpret this well-known animated character with diverse creative perspectives and techniques. In Shi Zhiying's work "Woodblock Mickey 2021", the artist made a separate version of "Mickey", a classic image of animation that is widely spread at the moment, using woodcut prints to make a separate version, which is constantly expanded and arranged in the space, and the printed traces formed are not the same, which is different from modern industrial printing technology and presents a unique side of Mickey. Wang Zhiyi's work "Strange Out of the Water" continues his own expression habits of color and graphic space, placing Mickey's image in a colorful world in fantasy, floating with ripples, and the cleverly arranged exhibition method allows the audience to have a separate communication with the work in a darker small space. Chen Rui's work "Ripples" adopts the Chinese style technique, and the ink Mickey rises in the ink pool, flooding the ripples, presenting the beauty of traditional Chinese artistic conception and setting off the charm of the intersection of Chinese and Western cultures. In "Yi Mickey", the artist Li Muzi designed the pattern of Mickey's face with reference to the "flame pattern" in the Yi intangible cultural heritage Yi embroidery film, and the fabric part was completed by the Yi embroidery team with traditional splicing and locking techniques, and the peripheral acrylic device of Mickey's shape reflected the pattern at the same time, but also reflected the surrounding environmental space, one ancient and one modern, as if through time and space. Miao Ying's work "Model Mickey", the artist combines Mickey with the traditional Chinese element - the screen, in this innovative three-dimensional world of ink painting, Mickey and Minnie swim on the Chinese landscape screen, and the collision and exchange between China and the West blend with each other in the work. In addition, UCCA Lab will also display the theme costumes worn by Mickey at Shanghai Disney Resort and the concept art of Shanghai Disneyland's iconic fantasy fairy tale castle in the "Walking with Mickey" section of Chengdu Station. During the exhibition, artists' co-branded derivatives will be released one after another, allowing the audience to explore the intermingling of Disney and contemporary art in depth, and narrowing the distance between art and the audience.
In addition, the exhibition also includes a series of original works by celebrities and special new media interactive works.
About "Curiosity Without Boundaries: Mickey Art Exhibition" Chengdu Station
"Curious Without Boundaries: Mickey Art Exhibition" chengdu station is co-sponsored by Disney and UCCA Lab, a subsidiary of UCCA Group, supported by chief sponsor Mercedes-Benz V-Class MPV, wall solutions provided by China Resources Paint, co-curated by Darren Romanelli, You Yang, Zhang Liting and Tang Tang, and the exhibition space is jointly designed by Ben Yi Architects. At the same time, thanks to Chengdu Station partner Chengdu Ocean Taikoo Li.
List of Participating Artists (in no particular order)
Daniel Arxuan, Tanya Aguinaga, Stacy Ayama, Michael Bossanko, Brian Brais, Nigo, Cao Yuxi, Chen Fanmaru, Chen Guanxi, Chen Jie, Chen Man, Chen Rui, Tomoko Oshima, Deng Naixuan, Feng Hanting, Yasusuke Kawamura, He Tianqi, Amanda Ross Ho, Huang Qiqin, Ji Ye and Wen Yipei, James Jane, JUJUWANG, London Kay, Michael John Kelly, John Quinn, Li Erpeng, Li Gang, Li Muzi, Li Weiyi , Liang Manqi, Liu Jiayu, Lu Pingyuan, Brian Rodinger, Dylan Romanelli, Javier Sanchez Medina, Miao Ying, Ning Xiaoli, Noise Temple, Ariana Papademetropoulos, Peaceminusone, Oliver Payne, Snica Smith, Shi Zhiying, Keiichi Tianming, Naina Timda, WAKU, Wanmei (Mami), Wang Dongling, Wang Zhiyi, Alek Shirin, Jeff Shelley, Yang Mushi, Tetsuya Nomura, Zhang Xinyi , Zhou Brown Brown
About the Walt Disney Company in China
Walt Disney Corporation, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading, diversified, international home entertainment company with operations in theme parks, experience and consumer goods, media and entertainment distribution, and three content segments—Film, Mass Entertainment, and Sports—that collectively focus on developing and producing content for direct-service consumer platforms, theaters, and cable platforms. In China, the company is committed to creating high-quality entertainment experiences and driving the development of its major brands. In September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland officially opened its doors, the first theme park for Disney in China. In 2016, Shanghai Disney Resort, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Shanghai Shendi Group, was grandly opened. The Walt Disney Company is a constituent of Dow Jones' 30 Industrial Indices, with revenues exceeding $65.4 billion in fiscal year 2020.
About UCCA Lab
UCCA Lab is a contemporary cultural platform within the UCCA Group that explores the possibilities of diverse artistic collaboration. With the UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art as the core body, UCCA Group is committed to promoting China's deeper participation in global dialogue through contemporary art. UCCA Lab focuses on exploring and expanding the diversified cooperation of art, working with outstanding brands in various fields to present special activities such as cultural promotion and art exhibition projects that are in line with the spirit of the brand, and conveying the charm of contemporary culture and art to a wider range of people.
Information about the exhibition
Ticket information: Early bird ticket (limited time sale) 88 yuan / piece
2021.10.23-10.31 Limited time release, after the launch of the original price
Limited date ticket (Monday to Thursday, except statutory holidays) 138 yuan
Full-date pass (unlimited use date) 150 RMB
Visiting hours: 2021.11.1 –2022.2.20, the museum is not closed on Mondays during the exhibition period
Daily 11:00-21:00 (Last admission at 20:30)
Exhibition venue: Chengdu Sino-Ocean Swire Liman Plaza next to the West Courtyard, No. 8 Zhongshao Hat Street, Jinjiang District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Ticketing Instructions
1. One person, one ticket, ticket holder, if you need to enter in batches, please place separate orders; tickets are only for single admission.
2. Tickets are special products with timeliness, once sold, they will not be refunded or exchanged, and will be forfeited after the deadline. Please read the instructions carefully, check the information and place your order.
3. Limited Date Tickets must be used on the specified dates and are only valid from Monday to Thursday (except statutory holidays).
4. The Full Day Pass or Early Bird Ticket is unlimited and can be used from Monday to Sunday (including public holidays).
5. Preferential ticket policy: Students, the elderly over 60 years old (including 60 years old), the disabled, and minors with a height of more than 1.2 meters can enjoy the preferential ticket purchase policy (preferential fare: 88 yuan), please hold relevant valid documents to enter the exhibition; the preferential ticket is not limited to the date of use.
6. Children with a height of 1.2 meters and below are free of charge, and each free child must be accompanied by a ticketed adult (one adult can only bring one child).
7. Valid student certificates refer to full-time junior college, undergraduate and postgraduate certificates enrolled in ordinary universities and colleges, and student certificates enrolled in primary and secondary schools.
8. The exhibition organizer reserves the right to check the identity of the person enjoying the preferential ticket.