WE APOLOGIZE TO INFORM YOU _HANNOVER

A site specific performance work created by XIAO KE x ZI HAN in 2015. It aims to build up the dialogue between individual action and the realistic social issue to expound artists’ attitude and concern. Xiao Ke and Zi Han give up the formal theater stage but move into public space, which reflects the realistic situation where they do their own art in Shanghai China. Live performance connects with daily staff; they try to reduce professional technical decoration in their performance but build up a strong image that is magnified from realistic life. The work combines with live performance, installation, and visual art all together.

The name “We apologize to inform you” is used to highlight the potential violence in the daily life. We are used to meet the similar situation to be accepted by some decided result such as in public airport. However it does not just happened in common flight delaying, also in the individual right issue, which is the common reality in china and other countries. The political power tries to reeducate people to be accepted by their purpose. In the performance Xiao Ke and Zi Han pick up typical behaviors and magnify the energy to alarm people awaking.

“We apologize to inform you” has launched 3 versions in China, Japan and Germany. Each version XIAO KE x ZI HAN did research in the different locations and developed a related but also different performances based on the each local situation.

The performance separated as four parts as followed:

NO1: Sleeping (live art exhibition in Galerie from 10:00am to 7:00pm on 31st May 2015)

NO2: Misrepresentation (physical performance in Galerie from 7:15pm to 8:15pm on 31st May 2015)

NO3: Disappearance (public space action in Hannover city from 8:15pm to 9:30pm on 31st May 2015)

NO4: Introspection (conceptual live art in one year to finish the performance ending on 31th May 2016)

Xiao Ke X Zi Han use white cloth to cover the space floor, on which they write the famous Chinese literary work from Chuang Tzu (around 369-286 BCE). The two artists spend couple of months to copy write these words onto white cloth before the performance. There are amazing classical wall painting from 1650’s Venetian and beautiful baroque chandeliers in the space Galerie, Xiao Ke X Zi Han’s white cloth on the floor makes a distinct contrast with the traditional magnificence.

The two artists start with Sleeping, they take hypnagogue to enforce lying on these words, nonchalance. Time flows and audience pass by; they use motionless way to be with this beautiful space.Waking up after sleeping, the performance transfers to “Misrepresentation”. A physical action spreads out on the huge white cloth floor (375 square meter) with physical performance. Audience can change their watching distance to feel the live performance and get different view and feeling.

End of “Misrepresentation”, XIAO KE x ZI HAN cut the huge cloth, and take out of Galerie to Hannover city, they disperse the cloth chips to Hannover city.

When they go out of Galerie, they never come back to Galerie in the next one year, they use one year to finish the final performance part: introspection. After one year, they put an installation into the space to finish the whole performance in 2016.

Sleeping, dialogue, misrepresentation, disappearance and introspection. We apologize to inform you, it takes 8769 hours.

Concept_ XIAO KE x ZI HAN

Dramaturg_ Rolland Quitt

Choreography_ Xiao Ke

Music_ Zi Han

Sound Design_ Hu Zi

Performance_ Xiao Ke, Zi Han

Lighting Design_ KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen

Assistant_ Nora Kronemeyer

Photo_ KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen

Coproduction_ KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen