Author: George Clark

Mosquito Cinema: Journey to the West
Saturday, May 14 2016, 6 PM – 9 PM
Tsung-yeh Arts and Cultrual Centre, Madou District, Tainan

This special outdoor 35mm film screening took place in the Tsung-yeh park during my period as artists in residence in Tainan. The event involved a programme of films drawn form the private collection of Mr. Hsu including short devotional film《醉八仙》/ ‘Drunken Eight Immortals’ designed for screening at Temples and the feature length Taiwanese fantasy film 《新西遊記》/ ‘New Pilgrims to the West (1982)’. The event was chaired by Mr. Hsu in traditional ‘mosquito cinema’ style and concluded with discussion with him reflecting on the origins of this tradition. 

“In Taiwan we are not unfamiliar with the outdoor film projectionists and tradition of ‘mosquito cinema’. Before television and VHS arrived on this island, the outdoor projectionists were the busiest men on the street. In the 1980s illegal gambling “Da Jia Le” (which literally means “everybody is happy”) overwhelmed the island and was so popular that people went to temples to ask for luck and even went to the cemetery to seek help from ghosts. When the gamblers won they would hire the projectionist to screen a film to thank the gods and the ghosts.

While researching this cinematic tradition we visited the studio and personal archive of Mr. Hsu in Pingtung, one of the few outdoor projectionists still active in Taiwan. He maintains a diverse collection of traditional celluloid film projectors and has been in this business for over 50 years, witnessing the rise and fall of mosquito cinema. For this special event we have invited Hsu to screen a 35mm film that he used to play in the temple ceremony and share his experience as a witness to the history of the mosquito cinema.” – The Other Cinema Collective with George Clark.

還記得小時候在廟口看電影的好時光嗎？隨著科技的進步，電影全面數位化、光碟與檔案取得容易，在廟口放電影的傳統逐漸在消失中。由「另一種影像記事」策劃「露天野放：電光石火35mm《新西遊記》」特別放映活動，將在本週六（5月14日）晚上六點起在台南麻豆總爺藝文中心登場，活動除了放映1982年由陳俊良導演執導的《新西遊記》，也邀請資深放映師許順吉、英國電影策展人與實驗電影創作者George Clark，一同與觀眾分享台灣露天放映興衰史。

在電視或錄影帶引進台灣之前，露天電影放映師曾經是街頭上最忙碌的人，80年代因為台灣全島流行大家樂，信徒為了酬神謝鬼「報明牌」而經常聘請放映師在廟前或野墓間放映電影回報鬼神，使得「電影放映師」變成受歡迎且利潤極高的職業。本次活動特別邀請到許順吉放映師，他視台灣現在少有仍在使用35釐米高感光弧光放映機進行露天電影放映的師傅，在業界將近50年見證露天電影放映史的興衰。他將以35mm放映機映演他蒐藏的電影《新西遊記》，以及短片《醉八仙》（30分鐘），並在映後講述露天電影興衰史。

「露天野放：電光石火35mm《新西遊記》」為即將在2017年5月於台南蕭壠文化園區推出的「每部影片都是一道謎語：在黑盒子與白立方的動態影像」之展前實驗放映會，也是英國電影策展人與實驗電影創作者 George Clark在台南駐村的階段性成果之一。

Thanks to Mr. Hsu, Yu ling Chou and Yaowen Hsu.
Supported by Soulangh Cultural Park, Tsung-yeh Arts and Cultrual Centre, National Culture and Arts Foundation.

Artist in Residence Tainan
Soulangh Culture Park / Tsung Yeh Art and Culture Centre, Tainan City, Taiwan
March-May 2016

As artist in residence I developed new installation project A Planter’s Art drawing on official, cinematic and family histories in Taiwan. Throughout residency I grew a garden and explored landscape and agriculture in the rural region of Tainan. During development of my film I also explored film and art histories in Taiwan in particular looking at performative and site specific film traditions from the tradition of rural with farmers during the Japanese colonial period to ongoing tradition of outdoor screenings at temples.

On The Planter’s Art: An illustrated talk on films, maps and gardening
Los Otros 59 Mahabagin St, Teachers Village East, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
13 February 2016

“I am told there are people who do not care for maps, and find it hard to believe; here is an inexhaustible fund of interest for any man with eyes to see or twopence-worth of imagination to understand with!” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“The map does not reproduce an unconscious closed in upon itself; it constructs the unconscious” – Gilles Deleuze

In this informal screening and talk, artist and curator George Clark will discuss topics related to his ongoing film projects exploring the ideas of perspective, categorisation and interpretation in cinema and art. Drawing from his research in Hong Kong and Los Angeles, George will present and discuss a diverse range of subjects from 16mm Kodachome films of Californian gardener Albert Wilson, the history of bird watching and illustration in colonial Hong Kong and the visionary 1980 Pompidou exhibition ‘Maps and Figures of the Earth/Cartes et figures de la Terre’ that explored maps as “instruments of travel and discovery, as well as sophisticated tools to dream.” The talk will draw on the writings of Jorge Luis-Borges and Gilles Deleuze and explore the early experimental films of Hong Kong critic Law Kar and the work in Paris of South American emigre filmmakers Raul Ruiz and Hugo Santiago.

Presented by Green Papaya Art Projects and Los Otros thanks to Audrey Lam Zi Yun. Photo documentation by Jacyn Esquillon & Merv Espina

GEORGE CLARK + JOSETTE CHIANG
11 February 2016 (Thursday) | 7 pm | Green Papaya EXT
99A Scout Rallos St corner Scout Ybardolaza St., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Artist talk and screening with George Clark and Josette Chiang and dinner and drinks with guest chef Malay Javier presented by Green Papaya Art Projects and Los Otros.

THE 8TH ASIA PACIFIC TRIENNIAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART (APT8)
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
21 November 2015 – 10 April 2016

Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) is the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art’s flagship exhibition focussed on the work of Asia, the Pacific and Australia. This eighth edition emphasises the role of performance in recent art, with live actions, video, kinetic art, figurative painting and sculpture exploring the use of the human form to express cultural, social and political ideas, and the central role of artists in articulating experiences specific to their localities. APT8 includes more than 80 artists and groups, an ongoing program of artist performances and projects; a conference as part of the opening program; extensive cinema programs; publications; and activities for kids and families.

Two focus projects are the result of in-depth research and ongoing exchange with the region. Yumi Danis (We Dance) presents the vitality and complexity of performance in the cultures of some of our nearest neighbours: Papua, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Kalpa Vriksha: Contemporary Indigenous and Vernacular Art of India looks at the breadth and vibrancy of Indigenous and vernacular art from regions of India. Also featured are site-specific installations by artists from UAE/Iran, India, South Korea, Myanmar, Australia and New Zealand. APT8 Cinema programs address the representation of Islamic cultures in popular culture throughout the region and showcase independent cinema from the Philippines.

I participated in APT8 as part of the International Visitors Program along with Diana Campbell Betancourt, Biljana Ciric, Reem Fadda, Hendrik Folkerts, Curator, Yee I-Lann, Abdellah Karroum, Emmanuel Kasarhérou, Raiji Kuroda, Venus Lau, Maia Nuku, Guillaume Soulard & Jochen Volz

Image: Danie Mellor New Materialisms (anticipating Girrugarr) I – V (detail) 2015 / Photographic prints on aluminium

A Distant Echo
Work-in-progress performance
Pavilion at Leeds Library, UK
24 April 2014