art of simplicity: stay real dreams

oh my gosh! oh my gosh! oh my gosh! i finally went to the stay real dreams exhibition (一克拉的梦想当代美学展), organised by mayday 阿信, in shanghai on 14 October 2012! a dream came true!

i first heard about this exhibition last year when it was exhibiting in taipei. at that time, i was very tempted to fly over to see the exhibition. however, i was also planning to visit nepal, a trip which i felt i needed to go as well. in the end, considering other factors, i decided to give the exhibition a miss.

this year, when i was reading an interview article in a magazine about 阿信, he mentioned that he would be bringing the exhibition to shanghai. wow! i was all excited! i would not want to miss the chance again. i started paying attention to his news feed on facebook (yes, i joined his fan page), in case he shared information about the exhibition.

one fine day, i saw the exhibition details on facebook! this was really happening! the exhibition would be from 21 september 2012 to 8 november 2012. i quickly shared the news with jada (she likes 阿信 as well), whether she would be interested in the exhibition.

after looking at our available schedules, we decided to meet up in shanghai on 13 october 2012 and visit the exhibition on 14 october 2012. shanghai would be the 1^st stop of my annual holiday, after which i would fly to guangzhou with her (she is working and staying in guangzhou), before taking the train to hong kong as my last stop. i had previously been to shanghai and guangzhou for work, but never to hong kong, a new place to visit this year.

with everything settled, i was finally on my way to shanghai! i met jada at a restaurant in the people’s park and we sat down to catch up with one another. it was definitely more fun to have another companion during travelling, to talk, walk around, and eat nice food!

we set off the next morning from our hostel and walked to the exhibition venue at the bund. the theme of the exhibition was about pursuing and fulfilling your dreams. the exhibition showcased the works of 5 artistes/designers including 阿信, who persevered in pursuing their dreams and became successful in their own field. 聂永真 for design, 阿信 for music, 蔡康永 for art, 不二良 for street and 童梦 for photography.

we were busy taking photos at the stay real signage at the entrance of the exhibition hall, before entering. hahaha! the exhibition began with the artworks of 聂永真, followed by photography works of 童梦, artworks and videos directed by 蔡康永 and exhibits by 阿信 and 不二良 at the last exhibition hall. undeniably, i came mainly for 阿信. he designed a number of sculptures, using the earth as the main theme. i could have been too excited about being at the exhibition and busy taking photos that i was not really paying much attention to the details of the exhibits. another reason could be that i had seen too many art works on the previous day, causing me to ‘shut down’ when seeing more. ironically, i only had this realization when we were in the cab, on our way to the airport for guangzhou. if i had known earlier, i might see the exhibition again. then again, maybe the outcome would still be the same. looking back, if i had the chance, i would slow down my excitement to ‘interact’ with the exhibits and appreciate more. lesson learnt: to be more present at future exhibitions, concerts, talks and shows.

nevertheless, what struck me the most was a series of wall decals along the corridor when we walked out of the exhibition. it displayed the whole process of pursuing a dream, going through the ups and downs and finally making the dream come true at the end. this wrapped up the whole exhibition nicely and i felt inspired. i guessed the exhibition did achieve its objective, to inspire people to pursue their dreams, at least for me. i needed to take my dreams seriously, believing in myself that one day, my dreams would come true. i was glad i made this trip to see the exhibition. thank you, jada for accompanying me!

lastly, thank you, 阿信 for organising this exhibition and look forward to more creations from you, whether in music or art! = )