[EXHIBITION]

12/19/2021 – 1/3/2022

Bananafish is proud to present the exhibition of this book at the gallery this Sunday (December 19), where we will select 20 of the 108 artists’ DO IT projects and present them as loose sheets in the exhibition hall. You are welcome to follow the artist’s instructions to create/complete your own work! The book will also be available for pre-order at Bananafish during the exhibition.

The printed loose sheets from 20 artists’ do it could be taken free by visitors. We invite you come to the space and pick up your favorite  “do it” and back home to do it, share with us on social media then.

Do It project first began in 1993 when Hans Ulrich Obrist and artists Bertrand Lavier and Christian Boltanski (1944-2021) discussed over coffee at Café Select in Paris how to create a more open and more inclusive exhibition model, which then led to exhibitions centered around do-it-yourself practice or following a program designed by the artist. Like a musical score, these exhibitions can be repeated many times and can be interpreted by the public in different forms. The project was initially positioned as an open-source project in which everyone could participate, regardless of age or ability. To date, Doing has made programs written by over 200 of the world’s most important contemporary artists and writers available to the public, and has been delivered to museums, schools, homes, and presented as exhibitions in museums and art centers in Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Asia. It can be said that Doing is both a handbook about art and like a cookbook or DIY art kit that brings art and life closer together.

Published by CITIC Publishing and co-edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Cao Dan, “Do It – China 2021” (bilingual version) was officially launched during Shanghai Art Week in November 2021. Originally inspired by the way in which “isolated” people around the world have developed the practice of “doing” into a creative expression, Do It – China 2021″ is a collection of proposals by 108 contemporary artists of Chinese artists. It is not only a guide to making art at home for all, but also presents an action of reflection, writing or painting by artists from their own creative origins. While expandable and participatory, it also presents a diverse artistic landscape of contemporary China to art professionals and enthusiasts worldwide.

The Beijing based graphic design studio PAY2PLAY is responsible for the book design with the concept of continuing the traditional orange cover of the do it project cover design; the binding design is also inspired by the traditional Chinese ancient book binding method, adopting a manual wire binding tube page design, light and soft Chinese Xuan paper, the whole book is thick but The book is thick and quite light.

EXHIBITION

THE BOOK

But it from Bananafish: bananafishbooks@gmail.com

or visit: Bananafish M50 bookshop: Building 6-106, Moganshan Rd.50, Shanghai