Rolls-Royce Motor Cars PressClub · Article.
ROLLS-ROYCE ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH ROCKBUND ART MUSEUM TO SUPPORT INSTALLATION BY AMERICAN ARTIST ASAD RAZA
Fri Sep 29 14:23:00 CEST 2017 Press Release
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to announce that as part of its Art Programme it has entered into a benefactor relationship with Rockbund Art Museum (RAM), Shanghai. As part of this arrangement, the partnership will bring American artist Asad Raza’s work Root sequence. Mother tongue, to the Rockbund Art Museum.
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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to announce that as part of its
Art Programme it has entered into a benefactor relationship with
Rockbund Art Museum (RAM), Shanghai. As part of this arrangement, the
partnership will bring American artist Asad Raza’s work Root
sequence. Mother tongue, to the Rockbund Art Museum.
The installation will now form part of ‘RAM HIGHLIGHTS 2017:
DISPLACE’, a project which aims to transform the museum into a
boundary-breaking experimental space, fostering a diverse and yet open
viewing experience. The installation will mark the Chinese debut for
the work, which was first shown at the Whitney Biennial, 2017.
Additionally, and most importantly, the Rolls-Royce Art
Programme will maintain a relationship with the museum and artist, to
further show the work around the world. In this instance, Root
sequence. Mother tongue, will, after a six day public exposure
at Rockbund Art Museum, be reconstituted at venues which will be
announced in due course.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor
Cars commented, “Asad Raza’s work Root sequence. Mother tongue,
is an intriguing and beguiling installation that challenges the
conventions of how we interact with art. The Rolls-Royce Art Programme
seeks to foster reativity and we are thrilled that the public will
once again experience this unique and exciting installation.”
Larys Frogier, Director of the Rockbund Art Museum, commented,
"The Rockbund Art Museum is honoured for the brilliant support
given by the Rolls-Royce Art Programme to Root Sequence, Mother
Tongue, a stunning artwork created by Asad Raza, that combines
eco-care, visual arts, choreography and performance, with ongoing
collective artistic contributions. In the framework of the DISPLACE
art event produced for the RAM Highlight 2017 edition, the two
organisations share the same value for excellence, high quality and
unique creative projects. They also stand at the forefront of
supporting new art formats, beyond the usual definition of art
exhibition and art object. Such collaboration between Rolls-Royce and
RAM is based on a sincere and full engagement in favour of the
artists' projects and as such it envisions brand new possibilities for
contemporary art development."
The Rolls-Royce Art Programme has committed to creatively
contribute to the fabric of the contemporary art world and seeks to
work collaboratively with internationally acclaimed art institutions
and museums, to bring the work of extraordinary artists to the public,
which might not otherwise be available for public viewing.
Root sequence. Mother tongue will bring the forest – a space
of myth and fairy tales – into the museum. The installation will
include 26 trees planted in soil-filled wooden boxes and local Chinese
people who act as ‘caretakers’ for the trees, which collectively, the
artist describes as characters, individual inhabitants in a living
network. Each tree is grown locally, and their continuing growth
throughout the installation forms part of the exhibition, alongside
the improvised interaction of the caretakers, who might even opt to
move the trees, as part of their performance. UV lights are
strategically placed to encourage the trees’ photosynthesis throughout
the installation, whilst casting a pink hue over the proceedings.
Objects belonging to the caretakers and relating to their
personal histories are also incorporated into the installation,
creating an intriguing and unexpected immersive experience. Raza
intends to create an environment that provides visitors a park-like
respite from the traditional museum viewing experience, shunning
silence and sedentary observation in preference of interaction and
stimulation. Adding a further complexity to the work, the space can be
adapted for other artists or performers to interact with the
environment, acting as guest contributors to the piece.
Asad Raza commented, "It is a privilege to bring my
piece Root sequence. Mother tongue to China as part of this
groundbreaking exhibition, DISPLACE, in which live presence and
interaction will animate the Rockbund Art Museum. These are new
grounds on which novel forms of art-making are being pursued. As the
piece leaves behind a permanent grove of trees, I look forward to
returning over the years to take care of it. Rolls-Royce's focus on
hand-made craftsmanship is linked to these forms of presence: when the
living being takes precedence over the mere machine."
The Rolls-Royce Art Programme celebrates a shared philosophy
with the world of contemporary art. To date, Rolls-Royce has worked
with leading international artists and key figures from the
contemporary art world including: Yang Fudong, Isaac Julien and Ugo Rondinone.
Asad Raza’s installation Root sequence. Mother tongue
will be publicly exhibited at the Rockbund Art Museum with the support
of the Rolls-Royce Art Programme from 29 September to 4 October 2017.