The Scent of the Back Garden
SHI Xiang
Curators: Ren Zhitian, Zhang Baoyu
Group Exhibition, Sans Souci Town Art Center, Yunzhou District, Datong
Because it is close, and because we love it. Datong is often described as Beijing’s “back garden.” The term suggests more than a geographical proximity; it evokes a relationship that is intimate, relaxed, and full of possibility. Sans Souci Town is, in a sense, one of the entrances to this “back garden.” This artist residency brings together contemporary artists from Beijing, Shanghai and other metropolitan cities, inviting them to stay, create, and encounter one another here. The “sense of smell (scent)” refers not only to the allure of the fragrance of Hemerocallis (yellow flower), but also to a way of sensing that precedes narrative and intention—a form of perception rooted in the body, in intuition, and in those subtle sensations that arise when one first encounters a place.
Artist residencies have long flourished around the world. As a deeply personal form of cultural and artistic exchange, they carry forward an ancient tradition of hospitality while embracing the distinct character of each place. In an age of constant information flow, knowledge and ideas can be transmitted remotely; yet differences in taste, behavior, and experience still require the presence of the body in order to truly unfold.
Some artists arrive with a project and complete it here; others bring existing works into a new context; still others draw directly from the land, materials, and everyday life, allowing works to emerge spontaneously from the site. Painting, photography, moving image, installation, film screenings, guqin performance… different media and voices converge to form an open, polyphonic presence. Cultural resources overflow through encounter and are enlivened through exchange.
Art thus becomes a form of connection: between people, between people and place, and between experience, memory, and the unknown. It is connection and convergence; a call for humanity and a gesture of holding on. It is also the glimmer of feeling and intuition.
Art makes us human.
REN Zhitian
Installation view | image source: Snowball Archive
Installation Views
