“Mishima in Mexico,” 2012, is based on the 1950 novel “Thirst for Love” by Yukio Mishima, a Japanese writer and film director whose creative works are iconic within queer literature. In Tsang’s video, he and his collaborator Alexandro Segade shift between the four characters that make up the story which experimentally narrates the attempts of a director and screenwriter to adapt Mishima’s book to film. The video is projected in a space lit with shifting LED lights that recall the atmosphere of a nightclub. “Mishima in Mexico” will be a key piece in the MCA’s upcoming fall exhibition “Body Doubles,” which opens on October 25.
The work was originally commissioned by the Gwangju Biennial in South Korea, and is the first work of Tsang’s to enter the MCA’s collection. The artist, now based in Los Angeles, earned his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004 before being included in both the 2012 Whitney Biennial and the New Museum’s Triennial; currently he is the only artist to be included in both prestigious exhibitions.
Tomorrow’s performance represents an ongoing collaboration between Tsang and boychild that explores play through voice and movement, with Tsang performing the former and boychild the latter. The MCA notes that the performance is recommended for mature audiences. (Matt Morris)
Boundary Crossing: A Review of Christina Quarles at the MCA Christina Quarles’ distinct and intricate use of paint combined with her complicated and impressive fusion of boundaries compels the viewer to question their own boundaries, whether they are self-imposed, artificially constructed, or simply imaginary.
Cross-Cultural Existence: A Return to Mona Hatoum at the MCA Twenty-five years ago, in 1997, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago gave Mona Hatoum her first solo show in the United States. The current "Mona Hatoum: Early Works" is an overview of her video and performance works made throughout the 1980s.
