Anne Rochat’s Hic & Nunc Project Begins with the Great Wall in China

Duration: Mar.8-May 4, 2017
Supported by Pro Helvetia Shanghai, Swiss Arts Council
Swiss artist Anne Rochat has conducted residency in March 2017 at Ming Contemporary Art Museum (McaM) in Shanghai, for a joint project with Yann Marussich. She plans to conduct an ambitious project Hic & Nunc, and walking through the Great Wall in China in April 2017 shall be her first step. She will capture her experience with one video and one live performance per day, and produce in places she considers extraordinary and symbolic. She will conduct a similar walking in the Gobi area in Taklimakan Xinjiang.
She chose the Great Wall, which in her opinion, is one of the greatest architectural structure ever built by mankind. To her, this building is an absolute masterpiece, not only because of the ambitious character of the undertaking and the perfection of the construction, but also because it’s a perfect example of integrated architecture to the landscape. Moreover, the Great Wall keeps in between its bricks the spiritual, cultural and historical essence that account for its universal uniqueness.
The insignificance of a woman going through the immensity of China, Great Wall, Qinghai lake area, and Gobi Desert, endows this walking journey a meaning beyond imagination. Crossing China by foot represents an artistic, political, and physical act that is enlightened by a contemplative walk, which privileges slowness above the speed and efficacy imperatives of our everyday lives. The important thing is not the aim or the goal, but the path that is traveled, and about being in accordance with the surrounding environment. The Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti considered Humans as walking beings, dignified and sensible. If we think of walking as perpetually coming back to oneself, walking is also a call to unity among the multitude. Anne Rochat wishes to unite these heterogeneous dimensions, showing that the body is the soul.
This project is a continuity of her previous video performances Doris Magico that were made of approximately 50 short action films between 2009 and 2014 during her residencies in Switzerland, India, Italy and Cambodia. The videos will be shown at the Centre Culturel Suisse in Paris (CCS) nearly in live Apr.15, 2017 during the Festival Extra Ball.
Anne Rochat’s performance and installation at the Qinghai Lake and the Gobi Desert, courtesy the artist