Tongue-Tied and Twisted, an Earthbound Misfit 束縛於地表那些格格不入之人，在蒼穹瞠目結舌
The below essay was commissioned by M+ Magazine on the occasion of “Angela Su proudly presents: Lauren O—The Greatest Levitator in the Polyhedric Cosmos of Time".
Explore the imaginative world of an enigmatic figure named Lauren O, who possessed the power of levitation and played a crucial role in the 1960s anti-war movement, in Angela Su’s exhibition at M+.
Hong Kong artist Angela Su’s exhibition representing Hong Kong at the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is showcased at M+ with an adapted and site-responsive presentation. The exhibition stages Su’s speculative research about Lauren O, an enigmatic figure who possesses the power of levitation and played an instrumental role in the 1960s anti-war movement in the United States. Featuring a collection of her notes and study models, the exhibition illustrates Lauren O’s obsession with transformation and levitation.
Situated in the centre of the exhibition space is a series of geometric models handcrafted by Lauren O and displayed on a cross-shaped plinth. Ranging from solid forms to open frames, the irregular polygons that Lauren O constructed advance a theory of levitation that challenges classical ideas about geometry and the universe. Plato associated different polyhedra with the five elements of the universe: fire, earth, air, water, and ether. Lauren O’s models reflect a process of reconstructing irregular polygons to establish nature and the shape of the cosmos. The speculative objects she crafted embody an understanding of the universe as dynamic and fluid rather than rigid and static, and the solid models she constructed eventually gave way to open forms, suggesting that this view of the cosmos held the key to shedding physical limits and rising weightlessly into the air.
For Lauren O, the study of levitation could never remain in the realm of pure theory. Her dream of levitating emerged from and alongside cultural and political movements that sought to break open social forms as closed and static as the classical polyhedra. In 1967, more than fifty thousand activists representing a broad spectrum of the counterculture movement gathered in Washington, D.C. for the March on the Pentagon. Fuelled by a sense of hope, these young people were united in their opposition to the war in Vietnam. The demonstration targeted the Pentagon, home of the United States Department of Defense and a symbol of war. As they reached the imposing building, members of the March began an ‘exorcism’ of the Pentagon that included an attempt to lift the five-sided behemoth into the air. The act of ‘levitating the Pentagon’ created a perception among those who witnessed the protest that the authority of military power had been psychologically dissolved. Lauren O recorded her research of the event in a journal, and its pages are exhibited in a large panel featuring over two hundred notes and illustrations.
Lauren O’s beliefs about levitation and transformation inform Su’s own artistic interpretation. Projected on a tilted pentagonal structure suspended in the next gallery is the film The Magnificent Levitation Act of Lauren O (2022), which tells the story of Lauren O and her involvement with Laden Raven, an activist group catalysed by the US anti-war movement of the 1960s. In the film, Lauren O’s journey brings her to political struggles across time. The work comprises found footage and clips from a performance by Su. Weaving together fact and fiction, it suggests an alternative space for action and disruption.
The raven symbol representing Laden Raven can be found throughout the exhibition. Hanging in the corner of the room opposite the projection is a large hair embroidery depicting a raven spreading its wings. Adjacent to this piece is a series of five smaller hair embroidery works of birds, titled Museum of the Trembling Conspiracy of the Murder of Ravens (2023). Each embroidery is embedded in a plinth, the side of which is engraved with a list of collective nouns for birds. The history of collective nouns for birds can be traced back to the fifteenth century, when groups of birds received names that suggested their peculiar habits or reflected popular perception of the flocks. The collective nouns chosen by Su here highlight the uneasiness that one feels towards the idea of group gatherings.
This exhibition is an invitation to the speculative world of Laruen O that Su has built over the course of her career. It showcases the artist’s idiosyncratic practice that combines her interests in the history of science and medicine with her wild imagination.
徐世琪的M+展覽帶你探索想像中Lauren O的世界，這位神秘人物具有懸浮能力，且在1960年代美國反戰運動中扮演舉足輕重的角色。
藝術家徐世琪代表香港參加第59屆威尼斯視藝雙年展的展覽，因應M+現場空間的特質，以全新面貌與觀眾見面。在「徐世琪隆重呈獻：宇宙最強之懸浮者──Lauren O」中，展示了徐世琪對Lauren O的推想式研究；Lauren O是一位具有懸浮能力的傳奇人物，在1960年代美國反戰運動中扮演舉足輕重的角色。展覽現場透過Lauren O的筆記和研究模型，讓觀眾得以一窺她對轉化和懸浮的迷戀。
位於展廳中心的是一系列由Lauren O親手製作的幾何模型，陳列在十字形底座上。從實心形態到空心框架，Lauren O製造的這些不規則多邊形佐證了她的懸浮理論，挑戰傳統幾何學和宇宙觀的概念。柏拉圖將不同的多面體對應火、土、氣、水和以太五種宇宙元素，而Lauren O的模型反映了她改變不規則多邊形的過程，從而建立一套關於宇宙的本質和形狀的另類理論。她製作的推想式模型有助觀眾理解宇宙是動態與流動，而非封閉與停滯；有着實心表面的模型最終將被空心形態所取代，這是此宇宙觀足以擺脫物理限制、達至無重力懸浮上升的關鍵條件。
對Lauren O而言，懸浮的研究並不能停留在純理論的階段。她理想中的懸浮必須在文化和政治運動中加以實踐，如同打破古典多面體一樣，解放封閉和停滯不前的社會結構。1967年，超過五萬名社運人士走上街頭，他們代表着一群來自不同背景與派別的反主流文化人士，集結在華盛頓特區的五角大廈示威遊行。這群年輕人懷着一絲希望，聚集在一起反對越戰。此次遊行以五角大廈為目標，五角大廈是美國國防部的所在地，也是戰爭的象徵。當遊行人士抵達這座宏偉的五邊形建築時，他們為五角大廈施行「驅魔」儀式，嘗試將龐大的五角大廈懸浮升空。這場「懸浮五角大廈」行動瓦解了所有見證是次抗議遊行的人心中對於軍事力量的權威。展覽現場展示了超過兩百張收錄在Lauren O日記中關於她對五角大廈事件的研究筆記及手繪紀錄。
徐世琪透過自己的藝術創作回應Lauren O對於懸浮和轉化的執迷。在另一展間，影片《The Magnificent Levitation Act of Lauren O》投影在傾斜的五邊形結構上，講述Lauren O的故事，以及她與1960年代美國反戰運動催生的社會運動組織Laden Raven之間的關係。片中，Lauren O的旅程使她經歷了不同時空的政治鬥爭。這部作品由現成資料片段和徐世琪的展演片段構成，利用虛實交錯的手法引領觀眾進入一個關於介入與干擾的另類空間。
象徵Laden Raven的雀鳥符號貫穿整個展覽。在房間一隅、即投影作品的對面，掛着一幅大型髮絲刺繡，上面描繪了一隻張開翅膀的雀鳥。與之相鄰的是一系列小型、描繪不同雀鳥的髮絲刺繡，名為《雀鳥集體名詞博物館》。每件刺繡都嵌在一個底座上，底座的側刻有鳥類的英文集體名詞列表。鳥類集體名詞的歷史可以追溯至十五世紀，當時鳥類的命名來自其特殊習性或大眾對鳥類的普遍看法。徐世琪為展覽挑選的集體名詞凸顯了人們對群體聚集的不安。
此次展覽邀請觀眾進入徐世琪在其藝術生涯中建構的推想式世界，展覽的時空背景喚起了人們對1960年代反文化運動的集體記憶，並巧妙地透過這段歷史反映我們當前所處的時代；展覽更進一步讓我們理解反文化運動是如何在社會氛圍出現緊繃時帶來改變，促使新文化形式的形成和另類思想的湧現。
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