NARRATOR:

The original title of this installation work, created by Gu Dexin in 2000, was 2000-11-04. Now the work is retitled 2021-11-12 to commemorate M+’s grand opening.

When the artist first created the work, the materials used to create it included a red carpet, a gilded frame, a cushioned chair, and visceral pork fat, which was meant to be filling for the seat cushion of the chair.

In the exhibition M+ Sigg Collection: Another Story, which opened in 2023, the original version of the work, including the cushioned chair filled with visceral pork fat, is on special display for three consecutive days starting from the exhibition’s opening. Visitors can sit on the chair and feel the texture of the cushion during the period. After this, the chair’s cushion filling is replaced with polyester to meet conservation and storage requirements, and the work can no longer be touched.

The installation is shown in a rectangular exhibition area. A red cushioned chair measuring about 50 centimetres wide is placed near the centre. Sitting on the chair looking at the farther side of the room, you face a wall with a gilded frame that measures about 2.5 metres wide, taller than a standard door. The frame seems to enclose a red monochromatic image. Looking closer, however, the image is actually red acrylic paint that has been painted directly onto the wall. On this flat red surface, the artwork's title is written in small black letters. From the chair, a red carpet rolls out from the cushioned chair and reaches the foot of the gilded frame. The carpet is nine metres long and is almost as wide as the frame. The chair, the paint on the wall, and the carpet are all in a similar shade of bright red.

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Gu Dexin 2021-11-12