Art and creative direction for Robert Zhao Renhui's solo showcase 'Some Kind of Expedition' with 2902 Gallery's booth, at Art Stage (2011)
The final installment for 2011, and for the tenure of my involvement for the "book program" I mooted. A collection of old work and a smattering of new work, this edition continued the series' established academic/research rigour, presented in a "document artifact".
For this edition, as a nod to the large scale monolithic display fixtures installed for the showcase at the Art Stage booth, the book was "designed" in the same aspect ratio as the previous volumes — but printed and produced at exactly two times the size. Like a found artifact, the old book was purpoted to be "scanned and reproduced" at a larger size; all the elements were larger than life, from graphic elements to the index and body texts were exactly twice the size.
The "actual cover" was pitch black, with a "X" debossed unto it (Zhao's main visual motif for the exhibit), to convey a sense of mystery as a black book, with printed information on a "tearaway cover". The idea was to create an object free from its own research information; one could tear away the flimsy paper oversheet, over the stiff black cover should they desire.
A promotional poster, in the vein of a scientific animal identification chart (reversible), accompanied the project.
Promotional posters
