Paola Pivi 波拉•彼薇: Share but it’s not fair 分享，但不公平
7 July 2012–9 September 2012,Rockbund Museum Shanghai
The selection of works and materials in this exhibition is quite eclectic, ranging from glass chandeliers to textile pillow-like object suspended from the ceiling, as well as fake plastic pearls and bear skins, a multiple-billboard-sized print of a drawing and a range of moving liquids in a ‘cocktail party’ installation.
In some way, this is probably characteristic for Paola Pivi. Whatever comes into sight, can be transformed into a piece of art. The selection of materials or objects seems to be random, but what holds them together is a specific sense of irony or funniness. The works have to be approached and consumed with humor, as large or small jokes (usually large). The scale plays a big role in Pivi’s works. Large number of objects or a large size of an object is used to produce a sense of astonishment and overwhelm the viewer. This raises the question what will be left in the mind of the visitors after departing the exhibition.
I believe the answer here is: a good feeling. Here, the role of the museum and the curator enters the scene. Rockbund Art Museum could be easily awarded an award of excellence for its customer experience management. The museum is in a beautiful old, well reconstructed building, the exhibition space is well designed up into small details and there is plenty of friendly staff around. The visitor enters at the ground floor to buy tickets, and then proceeds upwards, floor by floor, starting from more ‘calm’ to more expressive installations, up to the ‘climax’ represented by the work ‘This is a cocktail party’ where water, red wine, orange juice, black ink, glycerin, mint syrup, espresso coffee, almond syrup and facial tonic flow in huge few meter tall reverse ‘fountains’. It is an overwhelming combination of sonic, olfactory and visual senses. After this, the visitors proceed to the upper most floor, where they are served free tee and coffee, while they are given time to contemplate on their art experience, and enjoy a view of the Shanghai skyline. This kind of customer service makes sure that the feeling left behind will be indeed good.
However as soon as one starts contemplate the meaning of the work a sense of emptiness comes into mind. While our senses have been entertained to the fullest, the intellectual nourishment has stayed a step behind. Is maybe this the actually addressed topic? A certain void in our daily lives that is being patched up with an experience economy. If this is indeed the topic, then it fits in very well with our contemporary lives, no matter if in China or the USA. But the lack of any criticality and the overabundance emotions in this show brings me to the conclusion that rather than reflecting, Pivi aims to uncritically extend the experiential entertainment economy all the way to the gallery.