Long March Space is presenting “Protagonist” – a solo show of Hu Xiangqian as a debut of this young artist at Long March Space. Hu’s three-part performance art show will be presented on video to explain the artist’s experiment with a goal of “understanding the way of thinking by means of art”.

“Protagonist” features the works of Hu Xiangqian that are free of coaching or glamorizing. They are not supposed to please the viewers with deliberate plotting or flawless acting. Instead, the stories are rendered in such a way as full of uncertainties, possibilities and expectations. With linear plot and entertainment put aside, Hu’s performance tends to embrace a plain form of linear thinking without getting trapped in a predefined procedure. In The labor song I night, a binary opposition emerges between the characters Hu has designed and the meaning of such presentation he is trying to explore. The melodies sung by the leading actress and the watchwords read by the leading actor alternate to generate a series of metaphors and metonymies. Acting out artist is silent performance. Hu is the only performer. Different types of cinematic language are used to look closely into subculture in an unhurried manner. 

Hu defines his acting role as “probably an important way of being an onlooker to myself, as if I had another pair of eyes looking on me all the time from way above. It’s like being watched by another person – a viewer. But I don’t care. I do what I want on the stage of reality. ”

In “Protagonist”, all work are presented to the audience in the most honest and realistic way. Hu’s behavior is completely driven by the instinctive desire. That’s the basic concept of Hu’s performance: the hidden reality can be found only by a straightforward experience.