As part of Asia Triennial Manchester 08, artist Han Bing from China is making a new version of his internationally renowned Walking the Cabbage Project in collaboration with The International 3.
On Han Bing’s behalf, we are looking for at least 100 people to join us by walking a cabbage on a lead through the streets of Manchester. Han Bing hopes that at the walk people of diverse backgrounds, lifestyles and all ages will be able to express their uniqueness and bring something of themselves to it. Wear or bring something on the walk that shows who you or your fantasy self are in order to celebrate freedom of expression.
If you would like to find out more about the themes of Han Bing’s work, what they might mean to you and the people of Manchester, and to meet the artist, please come to Cornerhouse on Friday, 11 April, 5-7pm for a workshop with Han Bing.
If you would like to join in with the workshop and/or the walk, please email cabbagewalk@gmail.com to book a place or for more information. Participants for the walk will need to arrive at Cornerhouse at 10am for refreshments and to pick up their cabbage. The walk will start at 11am, follow a route through the city and arrive back at Cornerhouse at around 1pm. People who turn up for the walk on the day are also welcome to join, but cannot be guaranteed a cabbage.
Han Bing on what inspires him:
“Love, labor and liberation. People who struggle and still maintain their dignity. People who think and care and have the courage to act on their principles. Art that engages real peoples’ real lives and provokes genuine emotion, intellectual growth and new commitment. Art that takes place in society and belongs to the public sphere, not just in galleries and before the eyes of elites.”
“I want people to question the definition of ‘normal practice,’ and to reflect on how much of our daily lives are routines we’ve blindly absorbed. We have choices about how to live. Performance art can cause us to stop and think about what we do, to ask ourselves how we should live. I don’t believe that the mission of performance art is to supply answers to life’s big questions, but it can certainly raise questions in public, provoking people to think.”
To find out more about Han Bing’s work, please visit www.amormundi.com or www.international3.com or the Han Bing exhibition at The International 3 ( 8 Fairfield St, Manchester, M1 3GF) where you can see documentation of the Walking the Cabbage Project.