Vol. 2 Wang Luyan
《612⇌6xx》
In May 2018, Chinese artist Wang Luyan, as the second invited artist, completed the conceptual performance work 612 ⇌ 6xx at CHAO. The artist removed all movable objects from Room 612, ranging from large items such as tables, chairs, and the entire bed set, to smaller items like toiletries and drinks from the minibar, and replaced them with identical objects from another room on the sixth floor, recording all the visible details of the original objects in Room 612 as much as possible, and after moving the objects from the other room into 612 to complete the replacement, the artist restored the visible details according to the previous information in an attempt to create a space identical to the original. The process of replacement involved a precise reproduction of every visible detail of the original room’s contents. The goal was to recreate a “guest room” that was visually indistinguishable from the original, rendering the guest unaware that the room they were staying in had been transformed into an artwork through the artist’s intervention. Is the artist's action a re-creation or a "futile" and ineffective imitation? Can one step into the same river twice?
Wang Luyan employed a method of appropriation and substitution, using the guest’s status as a non-audience member to turn the work into an object of use, thereby transforming it into “non-art.” He described this creation as an artistic “trap”—a paradox and dilemma simultaneously shared by the artist, the guest, and the artwork itself.
After the work was completed, the CHAO team interviewed Wang Luyan. He spoke to us about the origins of the piece, and explained why the concept of the work could not be conveyed outside the specific context of the guest room.
