Erwin Wurm: 'Narrow Mist' at UCCA Beijing

Written on Tuesday, 20 July 2010. Posted in Space Design

erwin wrum: narrow mist
ullens center for contemporary art (UCCA), beijing
july 17th to september 15th, 2010

with each of his new works, austrian artist erwin wurm reinvents the vocabulary of sculpture
turning it on its head. using simple materials, mundane objects, wit and written instructions,
wurm invites people to interact with his art, transforming spectators into active participants,
encouraging them to poke fun at the paradoxes of contemporary society. designboom just visited
erwin wurm's interactive exhibition 'narrow mist', on show at the UCCA in beijing, which presents
sculptures influenced by childhood houses, fashion fetishes an 'stuff' you can find in the
chinese metropolis.

'narrow house'
image © designboom

within the UCCA's nave, one encounters 'narrow house', a home that is modeled after the
one that wurm grew up in. the abode may look like a funhouse, but the installation raises
questions about having our personal space constricted, restricted or invaded. inside there
are narrow chairs and tables, narrow bookshelves lined with narrow books, a narrow sofa
and narrow rooms which have been covered with a distinctly 1970s-style wallpaper.
so is the house charmingly slender, disturbingly tight or claustrophobically close?
wurm invites visitors to enter the house and have the chance to walk through it to decide
for themselves.

outside the 'narrow house'
image © designboom

with subversive playfulness and an appreciation of human curiosity, wurm draws his audience in,
making them part of his creative process:

'I want to address serious matters, but in a light way. I want to reach more than just an
elite circle of insiders. if you approach things with a sense of humor, people immediately assume
you're not to be taken seriously. but I think truths about society and human existence can be
approached in different ways. you don't always have to be deadly serious. sarcasm and humor
can help you see things in a lighter vein.' - erwin wurm

a perspective view of the 'narrow house'
image © designboom

letters to erwin wurm about the exhibition:

dear mr. wurm,
if I can't fit in your narrow house, is it all right if I peek through the windows? -xiao pangzi

yes, why not? it's possible. or maybe if you go in the house, you'll get stuck in one of the rooms.
I can't make any guarantees you won't get stuck.

---

dear erwin,
are your box statues anatomically correct? if not, how do you tell the male boxes from the female?
I tried looking under their clothes, but it was really, really hard to tell. -name withheld

at the moment, there are just male boxes, no female boxes. don't ask me why - I have no idea.
an inner voice told me just to make male boxes.

---

dear creator,
I need to access the internet. would it be possible to install broadband in one of my rooms,
or would it have to be 'narrow-band'? please advise. -the narrow house

no, you can install normal-band because the narrowness is just related to the house,
for this specific work, this specific house. I'm not going to force other things to be narrow.