Basel | ArtRegion: Basel - Oberrhein

Büro Basel

Xu Zhen: Physique of Consciousness

15. November 2018 – 19. Januar 2019

Physique of Consciousness combines physical and spiritual virtues, enhancing body conditions and well-being. It consists of ten exercises, as ten chapters, with a progression of levels from easy to hard. The whole set of exercise lasts for thirty minutes. Movements are flowing, peaceful and aesthetic, accompanied by a relaxing music. Involving elements of dance, gymnastics, spiritual and cultural rituals, the series of exercises is composed of hundreds of steps and moves inspired from ceremonies, worships and traditions accumulated through the history of humanity.

This fitness exercise is open to any public and it has various benefits such as maintaining a healthy physical condition, strengthening muscles, joint mobility, and improving the immune system. It can also bring peace of mind, by relieving stress and providing a feeling of wellness. The movements in Physique of Consciousness involve elements of dance, gymnastics, spiritual and cultural rituals and and represent numerous symbolic meanings, issued from various cultures and civilizations of different periods and regions. The fitness exercise Physique of Consciousness by definition reflects the spirit of humanity, it describes and depicts human „consciousness“.

Throughout history, exploration and control of body and spirit have always been an essential topic, and the establishment of Physique of Consciousness results from researches led by Xu Zhen MadeIn Company on this topic. It has been set up at several places before, among others at the Kunsthalle Bern in 2009 and at the Tate Liverpool in summer 2018. Xu Zhen is regularly referred to as a trickster, an art chameleon and as a prankster. Although he is still quite young of age (born 1977), he already has an impressive artistic past and is regarded as highly influential for the younger art generation in China. Starting very early in the Chinese art scene of the mid-late 1990ies, he followed diverse interests in artistic creation, spanning tendencies from body art and performance to complex art installations, media art and collective art practices, just to name a few. Xu Zhen exhibited 2000 in the legendary Fuck Off-exhibition in Shanghai (curated by Feng Boyi and Ai Weiwei) and has so far been the youngest artist from China to participate at the Venice Biennial in 2001 and 2005.