Abigail Reynolds begins her BMW Art Journey,
visiting the lost
libraries of the Silk Road as well as participating in Yinchuan
Biennale, the first biennale in Northwest China.
Munich/Basel. BMW Art Journey winner Abigail
Reynolds (represented by ROKEBY, London) has begun the first
leg of her journey along the Silk Road, which sees her travel by
motorbike to visit the sites of ‘lost libraries’ she has come across
in her research. Reynolds is the third BMW Art Journey winner and will
be the second artist to unveil her work at Art Basel’s Hong Kong show,
following work by previous winner Samson Young which debuted at this
year’s edition. Reynolds is currently completing the first stage of
her tour, and has so far travelled from the UK to China, where she has
visited Xi’an before heading to Yinchuan, where her work has been
included as part of the Biennale. From Yinchuan she will travel
through Dunhuang before heading to Kokand in Uzbekistan and Istanbul
in Turkey.
The first stop on Reynolds’ journey saw her visit the Xianyang Palace
library, founded in 350 BCE and destroyed in 206 CBE. Xianyang was
made the capital of the state of Qin in 350 BCE where the Ch’in
dynasty (221 BCE – 207 BCE) left a lasting impact. While the site is
mentioned in many ancient scholarly texts and the site was excavated
in 1956, all that remains today is a barren plot of wasteland, the
sight of which was a resonant and moving experience for the artist.
Reynolds’ second stop took her to the Baisikou Pagodas. These
Pagodas, home to a library containing the first ever book printed with
moveable type, were built by Xixia in 1075, partially destroyed by
Genghis Khan in 1227, and were completely destroyed during the
cultural revolution, with replicas constructed in the 1990s. The
artist explored the site and Xi’an’s local libraries to find
documentation on the original pagodas, piecing together the
circumstances of their gradual and complete destruction.
Throughout the journey, Reynolds will be recording her travels using
16mm film and a Bolex camera. The camera itself is heavy and
cumbersome, while the film is delicate and can be easily affected by
its conditions. Reynolds is at present unsure whether the film from
China will survive owing to the strong X-ray scanners in many
international airports as well as the extreme weather found in the
desert conditions of Central Asia. Images and scenes captured will
only be revealed upon developing the film in the UK. However, Reynolds
believes that should the film be fogged or damaged, then this decay
will mirror the conditions of the sites she is visiting. The idea of
having to salvage what she can find from the film directly correlates
to the various degrees of preservation and redevelopment she will
encounter on her journey.
Having studied English Literature at Oxford University, Abigail
Reynolds frequently draws inspiration from literary essays and figures
to imagine places and moments from the past, present and future. Her
project for BMW Art Journey 2016/17, ‘The Ruins of Time: Lost
Libraries of the Silk Road,’ will allow her to connect the complex
religious and secular narratives of Europe and Asia through an
extensive multi- continent series of visits to historic and fabled
repositories of books. The artist will trace sixteen sites of
libraries lost to political conflicts, looters, natural catastrophes
and war. Conceptually, Abigail Reynolds intends to explore blanks and
voids, with the library symbolising the impossibility of encompassing
all knowledge.
The second half of Reynolds’ journey will be completed by the end of
January 2017. This second leg will see Reynolds travel to sites in
Italy, Egypt, Turkey and Iran before once again returning to the UK.
Abigail Reynolds’ project, ‘The Ruins of Time: Lost Libraries of the
Silk Road’ will be presented by Art Basel and BMW at Art Basel in Hong
Kong 2017 and will comprise a body of work completed by Reynolds in
response to her findings along the Silk Road.
The BMW Art Journey is a global collaboration between Art Basel and
BMW, created to recognize and support emerging artists worldwide. This
unique award is open to artists who are exhibiting in the Discoveries
and Positions sectors in the Hong Kong and Miami Beach shows of Art
Basel, respectively. Two judging panels comprised of internationally
renowned experts meet first to select a shortlist of three artists
from the sector, who are then invited to submit proposals for a
journey aimed to further develop their ideas and artistic work. The
jury reconvenes to choose a winner from the three proposals. The next
round of selections for the BMW Art Journey will take place during Art
Basel in Miami Beach.
BMW is a global partner of Art Basel and has supported Art Basel’s
three shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong for over a decade.
Art Basel and BMW will collaborate with the artists to document the
journey and share it with a broader public through print publications,
online and social media.
For further information about the artists and the project, please
visit: www.bmw-art-journey.com
For further questions please contact:
Dr Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs
Head of Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49-89-382-24753
www.press.bmwgroup.com;
E-mail: presse@bmw.de
Dorothee Dines
Art Basel
Global Head of Media Relations
Telephone: + 41 58 206 27 06
Email: dorothee.dines@artbasel.com
About Abigail Reynolds
Based in Cornwall, UK,
Abigail Reynolds read English Literature at Oxford University before
pursuing Fine Art at Goldsmiths University. Her interest in books
prompts her collages, sculptures, films and printmaking. The ideas
driving Reynolds’ work are based on images from reportage photography
books, her interest in networks of association and how our sense of
time is affected by technology. Represented by ROKEBY (London), she
has exhibited at art institutions and galleries in London, Vienna, Los
Angeles, Seattle, Berlin and Eindhoven.
About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists
from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world’s premier art shows for
Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong
Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, as
reflected in its participating galleries, the artworks presented, and
the parallel programming produced in collaboration with local
institutions for each edition.
In recent years, Art Basel’s art-world engagement has expanded beyond
art fairs. In 2014, Art Basel launched its Crowdfunding Initiative, in
collaboration with Kickstarter, which has helped catalyze much-needed
support for outstanding non-commercial art projects worldwide and has
helped pledge over $1 million to creative projects all over the world.
For Art Basel Cities, launched in 2016, Art Basel will work with
select partner cities to develop vibrant and content-driven programs
specific to the individual city. Connecting them to the global art
world through Art Basel’s expertise and network, Art Basel Cities
supports its partner cities in developing their unique cultural
landscape. The first city Art Basel is partnering with for Art Basel
Cities is Buenos Aires. For further information please visit artbasel.com.
About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged
in over 100 cultural
cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its
long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical music
and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three
large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter
specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters.
Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel
Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated
with BMW. Currently, female artist Cao Fei from China and American
John Baldessari are creating the next two vehicles for the BMW Art
Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the
BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich
and London, the company also partners with leading museums and art
fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The
BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural
activities – as this initiative is as essential for producing
groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a
successful business.
Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture
and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview
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The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI
and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium
manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium
financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group
operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has
a global sales network in more than 140 countries. In 2015, the BMW
Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and nearly 137,000
motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year
2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues amounting to € 92.18
billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group had a workforce of
122,244 employees. The success of the BMW Group has always been based
on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has
therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout
the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear
commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
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