sun yuan and peng yu’s silicon chair whips around violently at the venice art biennale

artists sun yuan and peng yu present dear, an installation comprising a white silicon chair behind a plexiglass barrier, fit with a rubber hose that violently whips around the surrounding space in response to the blasts of highly pressurized air. invited to participate at the 2019 venice art biennale, in the international art exhibition may you live in interesting times, curated by ralph rugoff, the beijing-based duo displays the chair like an exhibit in a history museum, at the biennale’s arsenale venue.

image © designboom

sun yuan and peng yu’s installations often involve the staging of visceral, intimidating spectacles; the act of looking on the part of the audience is a constitutive element of their recent works. the object is loosely based on the imperial roman chair featured as a component of the statue in the lincoln memorial in washington, D.C., while the chair is kept company by a rubber hose that violently whips around the surrounding space. in between these periodic eruptions of violence, the chair sits inert again, almost invitingly serene – until the assault recommences.

image © designboom image © designboom image © designboom image © designboom

project info:

name: dear

artist: sun yuan and peng yu

exhibiton: la biennale di venezia – 58th international exhibition ‘may you live in interesting times’

duration: 11 may – 24 november 2019

location: venice, italy