51 Personae engages life, emotions, common sense, nature, history, economics, society, culture, and art, responding to and exceeding our speculations. It takes its chance in the way individuals present their dramas to become mobile power stations. 51 Personae, like the weight of human life on the streets of a city, is ephemeral and enduring.
51 Personae presents 51 dramas that feature 51 real-life scenarios, and so it provides 51 stories—though not answers—expanding the possibilities of the 11th Shanghai Biennale: Why Not Ask Again: Arguments, Counterarguments, and Stories. While arguments and reasoning do not always come up with rhetoric sufficient to accurately reflect one’s contemplation, stories are embedded with uncertainty, diversity, and vitality, as is indicated in the proverb: “There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes”. From the stories of others, one enters their lives, causing a reflection on one’s own life, and in this sense, the stories of others are linked to ours.
▼ Here are some selected stories. You can also check the original website for all the stories here
Man Seeking Centers of Gravity: Cédric Van Parys
Cédric was born into a hunter’s family on the outskirts of Ghent, Belgium. An architect/researcher, he has lived and worked in London and Rotterdam, and now lives in Shanghai. Over six months, and with no knowledge of Chinese language, he travelled to all the different corners of Shanghai, seeking out the architectural landmarks of the city’s breakneck progress since the early 1990’s. To him these urban centerpieces are the tops of skyscrapers located at the gravitational center points of each of Shanghai’s rapidly expanding and merging districts. He photographed each of them from the top of nearby and surrounding skyscrapers. He then reproduced scaled models of each of these skyscraper crowns in his studio, creating what he calls Monuments of Progress. The entire process was documented by his friend, the filmmaker Romain Vennekens, as the documentary, The Monument.
The Music Lover ：Li Xiaomei
Li Xiaomei, born in the Yulin district of Shanghai, grew up across the street from the former Shanghai Piano Factory. She loved singing as a child. At 19, though her father died and her mother fell ill, she left her young sisters and ‘went down to the countryside’, spending the next nine years as a teacher in a rural commune in Heilongjiang Province. Back in Shanghai, she worked in a factory, and then sold insurance. When her daughter decided to open a music school in Pudong, she moved to Chuansha, a town far from her original home. She took up singing again, learned to play the piano, and tried her hand at teaching.
Song Keeper ：Grandma Luan (Luan Guilan)
The only child of a workers’ family, she has always worked outside the state system. A proficient weaver, singer, and storyteller, she makes her living as an itinerant worker, vendor, and flaneur in Dinghaiqiao. Grandma Luan has an astonishing memory and knowledge of street life in this part of Shanghai. She can imitate perfectly the words, tunes, voices, and local accents of over ten different street hawkers’ cries.
Man with Many Lives：Min Min
Minmin is co-owner of the famous Shanghai nightclub, Lai Lai Dance Hall. She is an outgoing, straightforward and kindhearted Zhejiang Opera (Yueju) amateur and transvestite artiste. Dance halls are not only places to dance, but also places where encounters between bodies and souls take place. Minmin’s rich interweaving of art and life has been made into a documentary film, which will be shown at the music and coffee bar located below the Lai Lai Dance Hall. Come one, come all (lai means ‘come’ in Chinese)
A Sexual Activator ：Qu Bi
Over a dozen years ago, Yang Chun decided to leave the stuffy world of advertising and become involved instead in the study and practice of that which she was most passionate—the realm of the sexual. Rejecting all rules and ignoring dogmas, she sought information from leading specialists, constantly experimenting, testing, inventing, and creating. In her tireless practice and study of homosexuality, she involved herself in innumerable situations, simultaneously studying, teaching, and revealing.
Selected Moments from 51 Personae is a collection of photos taken at the live events of 51 Personae. Xu Jie, the editor, selected photos taken by himself and his two young collaborators, Liu Yunyi and Zhou Shengjie, and grouped them into several units. Along with 51 Personae: A Personal Perspective, another book of his, he laid out his experience as a core organizer and participant (as well as an old friend of several of the 51 Personae). A considerable number of the photos were taken before and after the events, because we do not regard 51 Personae as merely a live moment that could be solidified. Although there are nodes in time, there is no moment better than others. 51 Personae walks all the way through past experiences and feelings and will continue to walk ceaselessly. The brief narratives in the book are verified by Chen Yun—Xu Jie's own memory is sometimes disorderly and he insists on making corrections—so that they are relatively close to the reality of the events. (Chen Yun, English translated by bob)
Photo courtesy of Chen Yun, 51 Personae Booth being installed September 29, 2019 at Power Station of Art in Shanghai.