One Hundred Years of Solitude has the potential to provide a lens into Francis Alÿs’s works, as the book by the Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez starts with an ice cube and ends with a hurricane, both natural elements that also appear in the artist’s creations. Francis’ projects, for example, involve an ice cube that was depleted in 9 hours and coiled hair that was spread out and inexplicitly echoed a tornado. Just like the goldfish made and melted over and over again and the shroud sewn in daytime and unsewn at night in the novel, these artworks all come down to one theme – la dépense (consumption) or loop, as implied by the stories of Sisyphus, Ocnos or Penelope.
The “Walk & Talk” series is designed to indulge audience with diversified perspectives and opportunities for appreciating exhibited artworks, which are provided by scholars, artists, critics, curators or professional journalists from their personal and subject-matter points of view. At this session, Fan Ye, a PhD in literature, is invited to present his view on the exhibition Francis Alÿs: la dépense.
Dr. Fan Ye, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Peking University. He is the author of an essay collection The Sluggishness of Poets. His literature translations encompass Todos los fuegos el fuego (All Fires the Fire), Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude), A un poeta futuro (To a Future Poet) and La universidad desconocida (The Unknown University). He received the One Way Street Book Store Translation Award and was selected by the Economic Observer’s Book Review as the 2017 distinguished translator.
Ticket Price: 50RMB/person
Concessions: 50% discount for seniors over 70, teachers and college students with valid certificates;
Free Ticket: Middle school and primary school students, soldiers and person with disability.
Group Ticket: 30% discount for groups with 20 or more persons (Telephone reservation required at 86-21-68778787, This cannot be used in conjunction with other preferential terms)
