Ended
221A is pleased to present Translation Services, a publication and three-part exhibition that brings together international artists Hankil Ryu (Korea), Jarrod Sanderson (UK), Andrea Francke (UK) and Jackson Lam (UK) to explore and expose the ways in which translation modifies meaning, privileging or suppressing forms of knowledge.
Translation, derivative of the Latin word translatio meaning “to carry across”, implies a bridge or journey. The etymology of this word reveals the potential for something to slip or drop along the way – an imperfect path from source to target. Therefore, translation has always been a daunting task that paradoxically aids communication but inevitably obscures meaning. Through text, video and sound, Translation Services engages with the inadequacy of translation and its subsequent implications within Vancouver’s culturally diverse context.
Part 1: Sept 8 – 23, Hankil Ryu, Description for Other Things
7:00pm, Sept 7 – Talk & Performance (Swarm)
Hankil Ryu, artist and musician, founded The Manual Publishing, an organization that hosts improvisational sound performance and experimental collaborative projects. In his recent performance “Description for other things”, Ryu brings out a typewriter as his instrument. While he is typing, the motor hits various objects he set up on the stage that creates sound. Ryu intends to design the sound through sending out his writing. This reverse process of transcription inexplicably exposes the frustration of communication and the absurdity of translation. Ryu will also create sound installation specifically for Vancouver audiences from field recording in and around 221A and found objects.
Part 2: Sept 28 – Oct 14, Jarrod Sanderson, What difference between me and you
10:00pm, Oct 13 – Reception & The Piracy Project reading room
Sanderson’s film “What difference between me and you?” addresses issues around communication by reflecting on British English, and the city of London as historically Anglo-centric. Motivated from his background of anthropology, Sanderson filmed interviews with international art students in London. The questions focus on the participants’ artistic ambition, however, rather than concentrating on the content of conversation, Sanderson’s voice keeps correcting grammatical mistakes in their English. During the exhibition, Sanderson’s film will be looped in the gallery front window with outdoor speakers – enticing Chinatown pedestrians who have likely shared a similar experience of being ‘corrected’.
Part 3: Oct 19 – Nov 4, Andrea Francke and Jackson Lam, Please Translate
7:00pm, Oct 19 – Talk & Reception
Please Translate explores how book piracy has been used as a tool for political expression and freedom of speech. It focus on copyright issues in relation to the circulation of unauthorized translations. The project aims to give a historical context of the practice and also provide a working space for the development of new pirate translations. The project is developed by Andrea Francke and Jackson Lam. As part of Institutions by Artists, Francke will speak about The Piracy Project, an international publishing and exhibition project in partnership with AND Publishing.
Translation, derivative of the Latin word translatio meaning “to carry across”, implies a bridge or journey. The etymology of this word reveals the potential for something to slip or drop along the way – an imperfect path from source to target. Therefore, translation has always been a daunting task that paradoxically aids communication but inevitably obscures meaning. Through text, video and sound, Translation Services engages with the inadequacy of translation and its subsequent implications within Vancouver’s culturally diverse context.
Part 1: Sept 8 – 23, Hankil Ryu, Description for Other Things
7:00pm, Sept 7 – Talk & Performance (Swarm)
Hankil Ryu, artist and musician, founded The Manual Publishing, an organization that hosts improvisational sound performance and experimental collaborative projects. In his recent performance “Description for other things”, Ryu brings out a typewriter as his instrument. While he is typing, the motor hits various objects he set up on the stage that creates sound. Ryu intends to design the sound through sending out his writing. This reverse process of transcription inexplicably exposes the frustration of communication and the absurdity of translation. Ryu will also create sound installation specifically for Vancouver audiences from field recording in and around 221A and found objects.
Part 2: Sept 28 – Oct 14, Jarrod Sanderson, What difference between me and you
10:00pm, Oct 13 – Reception & The Piracy Project reading room
Sanderson’s film “What difference between me and you?” addresses issues around communication by reflecting on British English, and the city of London as historically Anglo-centric. Motivated from his background of anthropology, Sanderson filmed interviews with international art students in London. The questions focus on the participants’ artistic ambition, however, rather than concentrating on the content of conversation, Sanderson’s voice keeps correcting grammatical mistakes in their English. During the exhibition, Sanderson’s film will be looped in the gallery front window with outdoor speakers – enticing Chinatown pedestrians who have likely shared a similar experience of being ‘corrected’.
Part 3: Oct 19 – Nov 4, Andrea Francke and Jackson Lam, Please Translate
7:00pm, Oct 19 – Talk & Reception
Please Translate explores how book piracy has been used as a tool for political expression and freedom of speech. It focus on copyright issues in relation to the circulation of unauthorized translations. The project aims to give a historical context of the practice and also provide a working space for the development of new pirate translations. The project is developed by Andrea Francke and Jackson Lam. As part of Institutions by Artists, Francke will speak about The Piracy Project, an international publishing and exhibition project in partnership with AND Publishing.
