Julian Hou, Prince Nifty, Eddy Wang, Fan Wu in Residence

Description:

While in residence, Julian Hou, Prince Nifty, Eddy Wang, and Fan Wu transformed the Grand Luxe Hall into a quadraphonic sonic research space to investigate dimensions of the wounded healer archetype—a collective aspect for whom “taking care” is bound up with “self soothing.”

Their daily practice consisted of: qigong (dao yin forms); readings (from Carl Jung, from the Zhuangzi, and from the Nei Ye); and shruti box drone meditation, concluding with a daily jam session featuring guest poets and musicians. The public was invited to witness their process during an open rehearsal; as well as during a poetry reading by collaborators Hamish Ballantyne, S F Ho, and Tiziana La Melia; and a concert celebrating the release of Wu’s debut album, touch The Ten Thousand Things without dependency (2023).

Throughout the week, a pop-up shop of Second Spring merchandise took place in Western Front’s lobby during opening hours. Visitors were invited to browse a selection of books, CDs, vinyl, and apparel by New Chance, Yan Wen Chang, Toronto Experimental Translation Collective, Dennis Ha, S F Ho, Julian Hou, Tiziana La Melia, Fortunato Durutti Marinetti, Adele McCauley, and Prince Nifty.

Presented with the support of the Government of Canada and SOCAN Foundation.