YINZI theater welcomes back Anne Rochat for a research residency in Chongqing. In three weeks’ time, she will collaborate with Swiss director François Bovy to create a film called “Doris Magico’s Nose is Facing Chongqing”. After Chongqing, Anne foresees a coproduction with Tarik Hayward at Beijing’s Inside-Out Art Museum.

As an artist with rich experience and great tension, the inspiration for this collaboration came from her previous research trip around China and a short visit to YINZI Theatre in March 2019. The unique black box space of YINZI theater, the mixed and lively Huangjueping area, and the bustling, modern and natural landscape of buildings in the central area of Chongqing all indicate that there will be a great change here, but these elements seem to be quite challenging. Who will occupy the city? Nature or man?

Doris Magico’s Nose is Facing Chongqing (2019)

“Doris Magico’s Nose is Facing Chongqing” is the continuation of her previous video performance “Doris Magico”, recorded into 100 short videos during her journey in Switzerland, India, Italy, Cambodia, and China (Hic & Nunc Project) from 2009 to 2017. “Doris Magico” was also shown at the extra ball avant-garde art festival in CCS in Paris in April 2017.

This creation will take Doris Magico as the main character. Anne will invite François Bovy to walk in the city every day to collect ideas and atmosphere to understand people’s daily perspectives. They will see a series of vivid paintings – a poetic look at this eternal mega-city. The challenge they will face will be to reflect on how human beings, cities and nature coexist from the perspective of art in the disproportionate landscape!

Doris Magico’s nose is watching and being watched at the same time. She is experiencing the vastness and madness of the world’s largest city which is “devouring” the rich nature or being “anti-swallowed” by rich nature. Who or what is the dominant factor? How can we live in this giant city machine?

Anne Rochat

Anne Rochat graduated from the Lausanne University of Art and traveled around Asia. Between 2011 and 2012, she stayed in Varanasi, India. She has won many prestigious awards, including the Prix Irne Reymond in 2013, the Prix Kiefer Hablitzel in 2012, the Bourse Culturelle du Canton de Vaud in 2011, the Bourse Culturelle de la Fondation Leenaards and Swiss Awards, Art Basel in 2010.

(Banner image from Anne Rochat’s exhibition “Medium is the Message”, 2019, provided by Luxelakes A4 Art Museum in Chengdu.)