Li Zhenhua: Mi casa es su casa.
Li Zhenhua curator, born in 1975 in Beijing, currently works in Zurich, Berlin and Hong Kong. Active in the field of contemporary art since 1996, his practice mainly revolves around curation, artistic creation and project management. Currently, he is the curator of light screenings at Art Basel Hong Kong (2014-present), and the recommender of Prix Pictet Photography Festival in Switzerland. He has served as a recommender for the Summer Institute of the Paul Klee Museum in Switzerland, and an international consultant for the British Barbican International Exhibition “Digital Revolution” (2014), etc.
Li Zhenhua won the 2015 “Art News Asian Art Contribution Award Annual Curator Award”, and the 3rd Ural Contemporary Art Industry Biennale (2015) curated in 2016 won the Russian Innovation Award Regional Contemporary Art Project Award. Served as the chief judge for many domestic and foreign institutions, including: German Translation Media Art Festival (2010), CCAA Chinese Contemporary Art Award (now M+ Sigg Award 2012), Switzerland Fantoche Animation Festival (2012), AAC Chinese Art Award (2015-2016), Hyundai Motor Blue Prize (2018), KCC Open Call (2021), etc.
Where are you now, what are you up to?
I just returned to Switzerland from Italy. Italy is preparing to build a project about environmental change and art, Sequercaini Arte Clima. This is the first field trip and residency, which lasted about a month. The location is Sequerciani in Tuscany, Florence Nika and Tatti. Enjoy local food, wine, and conversations with interesting people.
Why this place? How long are you going to stay?
I will be here every year in the future, because there will be a series of projects here: artist residency, public art park, art festival, etc.
How do you spend one of your days usually?
I have two alarm clocks, one at 7:00 and one at 7:30. I hope the morning time will not be wasted and I hope to see the sunrise. The day starts with preparing breakfast, which is also the quietest moment of the mind. I can find a kind of simplicity and quietness between the kitchen and the ingredients, and let myself slowly enter the state of concentration. I don’t have a fixed plan every day, and I usually over-fulfill the content that should be completed. I like to keep more time, and I hope that more projects can be completed in a focused moment and in the most awake state. I like the word FLOW (heart flow), and I often ignore time and environment at work. It is a blessing to be able to enter this state. It’s fun to learn some interesting software and learn some new cooking methods. You must discover something new and interesting every day, and you will feel full. For me, fun can be in any aspect, it can be completely spiritual, and it can also be a matter of appetite.
What is the music you listen to most recently？
I listen to a lot of things, including classical music, jazz, cross talk and reading programs. I don’t particularly think which ones must be mentioned, because there are too many unheard or unknown ones waiting.
Recommend some movies you like?
“Five Boys Throwing Water”, “A Wonderful World”, “Forever Rich”, and “Rage·Serious Case” are all recently watched online.
Do you have your own idol? How does it affect you?
I never think about idol. The main thing is that I care about the choices and events I make as an individual, which makes me think about how people deal with themselves. Such as Žižek, Assange, Greta Thunberg, Musk, Marx, Yang Zhao, Ge Zhaoguang, Liang Wendao, Yan Lei, etc. See the funny side of others and learn from what a person says and does.
How many keywords would you use to describe yourself?
Try to be an interesting person, always explore the possibility of life, how can I be myself.
Which life experience has the greatest impact on you?
The past cannot be traced, but the future can still be expected.
What are your current occupations or jobs?
It took me some time to turn what I like into a career. These include: film, curating, art creation, cooking, woodworking, 3D drawing, 3D scanning of everything. Then find the joy of life from these professionalized labors.
When filling out government agency forms, what would you fill in the occupation column of personal information?
A cultural worker.
What are your favorite cities?
Ulaanbaatar, Seoul, London, Berlin, Zurich, Veronica, Kyoto, New York, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and many other places that cannot be called cities can discover new things, some of which are similar to ancient artistic conceptions Some are consistent with the current predicament, some are artistic, some are crude, some are similar, but they are all different.
Who are your favorite authors?
Tomas Transtromer, Yu Hua, Li Bihua, Mianmian, Sanmao, Orhan Pamuk, Amos Oz, Lu Xun, Milan Kundera, Yu Dafu, Hemingway, etc., too many. The world described by a writer or poet, abstract and concrete people, and even some imaginative feelings can all be perceived.
What about the artist?
Jordan Wolfson, Yan Lei, Ju Anqi, Julia Ducournau, Oron Catts, Sissel Tolaas, Liu Jiaying, etc. These are people who are exploring what art might be.
How does your original family influence you?
My original family gave me a lot of security and care. The influence and subsequent reading and life experience have been changing. Sometimes the past is projected as romantic, difficult, and happy, but is it really so?
If you could give your 20-year-old self a piece of advice, what would you tell him?
Enjoy youth.
When choosing a partner, do you look for your own kind, or someone who complements you?
To be able to live together and enjoy the ordinary.
Do you have any children of your own, and if not, will you have children in the future?
There are biological differences between males and females. Whether I want a child or not is physically impossible for me.
Do you think there is a “retirement” status in your life in the future?
Just like I turn happy things into careers, there is no clear boundary between work and retirement. Just enjoy every day.
Ever wondered what life might look like later in life?
I haven’t thought about it, and I can’t stop physical aging even if I think about it.
If you could have a special function, what would you want to have?
I don’t want to own anything, sometimes having it is also a burden.
Would you like to start your life all over again from childhood?
I have no idea about it.
Regardless of reality, what is the job you would most like to have?
Now that there is no limit, you can try anything.
What is your personal slogan?
Mi casa es su casa
Full text with pictures provided by Li Zhenhua
