Makeshift (exhibition)

By Xin Cheng, 2015

I have been fascinated by makeshift and improvised creations made by everyday people for the last few years, and am often inspired by experiences of venturing out of my ordinary life: intrepid ramblings, volunteering for conservation, doing fieldwork in Asia and Europe. In late 2013, thanks to an image search for ‘tokyo tyre park’, I discovered Chris Berthelsen, who has been conducting research along similar lines in Japan, and had moved back to Auckland. We started a series of collaborations titled making-do(ing), involving researching and discovering ways of working with companions and frugal materials. Makeshift is an experiment in using this research as a starting point for conversations and activities with a diverse range of collaborators and companions. We ask: How can these ways of making and living elsewhere open up threads of possibilities for the people of Auckland to engage with their surroundings? – Xin Cheng

See also: makeshift event by Xin Cheng and companions.

 

Images by Momo Xie

Makeshift was developed out of a series of research trips to Asia and Europe made by Xin Cheng in 2014. Cheng received funding support for the project from Sa Sa Art Projects, the Asia New Zealand Foundation, and Creative New Zealand.