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Kunststation Kiosk Babylon

pingpong – Ich liebe Dich

 

Kiosk/Xiaomaibu

‘German artist Petra Johnson brings contemporary art into the public space of the kiosk. She and her team have set up localised kiosks in Cologne (Germany) and Shanghai (China) and connected them with video feeds over the internet. Local residents of all colors and types can communicate across the world, using body language and simple words to share the joys of different toothpastes and lollipops.
The kiosk becomes not just a provider of daily use products for its limited locality, but a cultural space, an open, temporary mini-museum.’ (Zoe ZhangBing, curator, double act at ddm, Shanghai Sculpture Space, Shanghai, Ausstellungskatalog, Oct 2010)

Background

Through its engagement with urban spaces in 2010, KIOSK/Xiaomaibu got to know the neighbourhoods around Yang Ayi’s kiosk in Shanhgai und Mahira Ygit-Hahn’s Kiosk in Cologne.

As part of the ‘Through the Looking Glass” project the kiosks as well as other shops in the Koernerstrasse, Cologne, in Jing’An Villas, Shanghai and in Sishane, Istanbul were linked in 2011 for a limited time via skype in order to deepen this acquaintance.

For 2012, KIOSK/Xiaomaibu has devised a new project that affords immediate interaction. In co-operation with Mahira Yigt Hahn of Kiosk Babylon we will be using Kiosk Babylon for performative engagement in the daily sphere.

Project Scope

1. to lay seeds for street academies
2. to enable direct informative exchange between individuals distanced by geography, age groups estranged by technology and classes separated by education.
4. to privilege sound and movement above language based and visual communication.

Concept

What are the first Chinese words, one learns in Germany?

Did you ever wonder what would be the first German words one learns in China?

What would you say if the Kiosk owner takes your money but gives you not the cigarettes you want but a bottle of wine instead?

Does a German Glueckspfennig bring luck in China?

And does the Chinese knot work in Germany?

These questions and many more will be addressed at Kunststation Kiosk Babylon in Landmannstr. 8, Cologne.

During spring, summer and autumn, different Chinese artists will be engaging with Cologne kiosk culture and the public that frequents them. They will open up debates, raise questions about expectations and … leave something to be discovered.

KIOSK/Xiaomaibu seeks an agency, which cannot be envisioned…

The project “PingPong-Ich liebe Dich’ will organise three public events in Kiosk Babylon, Cologne with different Chinese artists and one event in Beijing.

Additionally the project will seek to establish a network with German artists already living in Beijing.

Project Means

A separate room in Kiosk Babylon for exhibition and events, a temporary space in Beijing.
A blog for love letters to the other culture.

Project Schedule

Past and forthcoming events:

December 2011 Petra Johnson in Lin JingJing’s Impossible Art Shop
1. – 19th June 2012 LinJingJing in Cologne at Kiosk Kunststation Babylon and other venues
September 2012 Prof. Kongjian Yu at plan 12 (tbc)
November 2012 NingZuoHong in Cologne & at Zollverein Essen (tbc)

a calendar kitchen at Kunststation Kiosk Babylon alongside a live skype link to the calendar kitchen at ‘homeshop’ in Beijing is currently being planned in co-operation with artist Emi Uemura.

 


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