18 April - 14 June 2009

Terroir and the Pathetic Fallacy is a large-scale installation inspired by ArtSway’s rural location, incorporating sculpture, photography and sound work, of an imaginary tourist resort which plays upon pagan myths and weather elements, made out of inert edible vegetables. ‘Terroir’ is an imaginary and all-encompassing tourist resort, populated by people whose real character is disguised through vegetable outfits and masks. A world of horrific beauty and pagan characters created out of inert materials into a landscape based upon the architecture and design of palaces of dictators and presidents. ‘Terroir’ is a themed resort of ‘naturalistic pantheism’, which explores, celebrates and critiques architectures of power and constructed by ridiculous and inert vegetables. The installation will feature large-format photographic wrap-around images of the resort accompanied by portraits of the characters that inhabit this themed resort. Sound work will include secrets of this imaginary resort, as told by the characters.

The work reflects developments in contemporary tourism, which harness aspects of weather and climate and will reflect the system of cloud classification, created by Luke Howard (1772-1864). The title of the exhibition refers to the ‘Pathetic Fallacy’, whereby an authorial voice alters weather conditions to reflect the mood of the action, situation or narration.

Terroir and the Pathetic Fallacy is part of a touring project entitled The Grand Tour. The tour is a programme of new work by Gayle Chong Kwan presented at mac, Birmingham; Arts Co., London; Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella, Italy and ArtSway, Hampshire. Supported by Chinese Arts Centre, UK and funded by Arts Council England.

Gayle Chong Kwan Biography

Gayle Chong Kwan is a London-based artist, working with large-format photography, video, sound, installation, and performance. Her work is often context specific or involves people in rituals of exchange, such as food or trade, to explore ideas of history, the senses and memory. The personal and global politics of food and tourism have been a major focus of Chong Kwan’s work to date.

Chong Kwan has shown extensively in the United Kingdom and abroad. As well as a BA Fine Art from Central Saint Martins College of Art, she has an MSc in Communications from Stirling University and a BA in Politics and Modern History from Manchester University.

Recent exhibitions/commissions include: ‘Government Art Fund’, British Ambassador's Residence, Paris; ‘Cantilever’, Collyer Bristow Gallery, London Festival of Architecture, London; ‘The Land of Peach Blossoms’, Graves Gallery, Sheffield; ‘Utopia’, Museu Berardo, Centro Cultural do Belem, Lisbon; ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’, Platform for Art, London; ‘Conversations’, Tate Britain, London; ‘Different Worlds’, National Portrait Gallery, London; ‘Follies’, La Villette, Paris; ‘Cockaigne’, Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester; Veduta Romantica’, MAC, Birmingham; European Forum Emerging Creation, Neumünster Abbey, Luxembourg; Cité in Progress, Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, Paris; ‘Stellar Dentrite’, Tatton Park Biennial, Manchester. Recent residencies include: Coast International Residency, A Foundation, Liverpool; Venice Printmaking, Italy; Macroproyecto de Moravia, Colombia; UNIDEE, Fondazione Pistoletto, Italy; Ville de Paris Residency, Cite Internationale des Arts de Paris, Paris. Recent awards include: Pepinieres Europeenes Pour Jeunes Artistes Award; Arts Council England Touring.

www.gaylechongkwan.com     www.thegrandtour.gaylechongkwan.com

Exhibition Associated Events:

FREE COACH FROM LONDON: Preview and Reception for the Artist

Saturday 18 April 2009 at 10.30am

A free coach from London will leave from opposite Tate Britain on Millbank at 10.30am for the opening of the exhibition. The coach will return for London for 7pm. A light lunch will be provided

FREE: Booking Essential.

Gallery Talk: Gayle Chong Kwan in Conversation with Peter Bonnell
Saturday 18 April 2009 at 3pm

London based artist Gayle Chong Kwan, in conversation with ArtSway’s Curator Peter Bonnell, will discuss the themes and ideas behind her exhibition Terroir and the Pathetic Fallacy. Chong Kwan will place the exhibition in the context of her touring project The Grand Tour, and how each element of the tour, including Terroir and the Pathetic Fallacy, interrelate and connects to her practice as a whole.
FREE: Booking Essential.

Art in Context: The Evolution of The Grand Tour

Wednesday 29 April 2009 at 7pm

Alongside Gayle Chong Kwan's exhibition, ArtSway is pleased to present an evening lecture by Professor Edward Chaney, Professor of Fine and Decorative Arts at Southampton Solent University. During this informal discussion Professor Chaney will discuss the origins of The Grand Tour, and how it became an essential trip for gentlemen to take and better themselves in the 16th and 17th Centuries.

FREE: Booking Essential.

Publication Launch: The Grand Tour by Gayle Chong Kwan

Saturday 23 May 2009 at 3pm

The 72-page, full-colour publication, coinciding with Gayle Chong Kwan's exhibition at ArtSway will officially be launched at the gallery. The Grand Tour is an ambitious book, documenting Chong Kwan's six-part touring exhibition, featuring a critical text by curator Camilla Brown, and an essay discussing the origins of the historic Grand Tour by Professor Edward Chaney.

FREE: All Welcome.

To book a place on any of the above events please contact Jack Lewis on 01590 682260 (ext.6) or email: jack.lewis@artsway.org.uk