Jason Wee’s ‘Quora Fora A Rehearsal’ at Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts

17 Aug 2024

Jason Wee presents Quora Fora A Rehearsal as a part of Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts’ group exhibition, Mountain Calculus《山演算》. Curated by Yao Yu (Taiwan), Carolina, and co-curated by Carolina Castro Jorquera (Chile), the concept of this exhibition is based on the curator’s experience in the village of Chile’s Andes two years ago, which led her to rethink the meaning of contemporary ecology in mountains lacking cellphone signals.

Mountain Calculus brings together 19 artists from 9 countries including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Ecuador, invites viewers to explore how these contemporary artists express their thoughts on the future of the ecology and reflect on our place in the world today.

Wee’s Quora Fora A Rehearsal explores the intersections of power, public assembly, and the evolving nature of creative expression. Inspired by the artist’s manuscript In Short Future Now, which imagines Asia in the wake of authoritarianism and climate crises, the work examines the cyclical rise of strongmen and questions whether we can escape this pattern. Blending poetry, textiles, and choral music, the piece draws on early Greek and East Asian theatre traditions, where these elements were closely tied to public gatherings. The concept of “rehearsal” is central, reflecting both the theatrical space as a rehearsal for public action and the work’s ongoing development. Each performance adds new compositions to the libretto, making every iteration a rehearsal for the next.

See Wee’s Quora Fora A Rehearsal at Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan. ‘ ‘Mountain Calculus《山演算》’ runs until 24 November 2024.

Image: Installation view of Jason Wee, ‘Quora Fora A Rehearsal’, 2020-ongoing, printed fabric, sound installation and poetry book In Short, Future Now, dimensions variable. Composers: Li-Chuan Chong, Aran O’Grady, Khris Nung Design: Quck Zhong Yi. Singers: Wilson Goh, Wei Yi, Ong Kok Leong, John Rae Cortes, Lim Ming Boon, Scoring The Word quartet. Photographed by Wu Chi-Yu. Courtesy of the artist and Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts