Bandaged Moments: In Conversation with Xiaojing Zhu
Courtesy of Xiaojing Zhu.
Xiaojing Zhu (b. Wuhan, China) is a New York-based curator currently pursuing a degree in Arts Administration at Teachers College, Columbia University. Since 2019, Xiaojing has been involved in the alternative project space DRC NO.12 in Beijing, China. She has led numerous public art projects and exhibitions in Beijing before moving to New York in 2023 to continue her curatorial endeavors. Recently, Zhu curated an exhibition titled Bandaged Moments at Tutu Gallery in Brooklyn, NY.
Meinzer: Does your curatorial work have a thematic focus?
Xiaojing Zhu: For the past seven years, I have consistently maintained a strong focus on localization, particularly the distinctive resonance of obscured native narratives within sociopolitical contexts. My hope is for localization to transcend the one-dimensional excavation of regional history or ethnographic representation, and instead to convey a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding through the medium of exhibition. I’m also interested in Asia’s geopolitics and feminism in the 21st century, looking at how political structures in Asian societies have evolved and adapted to modernization processes.
MZ: Your work for Bandaged Moments at Tutu Gallery certainly takes advantage of the open environment you speak to.
XZ: Prior to this exhibition, I have never encountered an apartment gallery that truly integrates with daily life. A lot of artist-run galleries have aimed to transform their spaces into white cubes. However, Tutu Gallery, where April and Tutu live daily, presents an exciting challenge of coexisting with the traces of everyday life.
Installation view of Bandaged Moments. Elaine Xuhong Chen, Echoes of the Oars, 2024, dimensions variable. Found objects, wood, and server motor. Courtesy of Xiaojung Zhu and Tutu Gallery.
MZ: Bandaged Moments circles around the complicated intimacy of domestic spaces. For a show with this theme, Tutu Gallery seems like the perfect setting. How did working with the space shape the outcome of the show?
XZ: The idea was to create the experience of entering a seemingly typical home and sitting down comfortably, only to gradually realize that many elements in the home appear strange. These unsettling feelings, embedded in the incongruous items or artworks, hint at the unspoken conflicts lurking within family bonds. This haunting discomfort should not only be related to romantic relationships, but could also encompass issues such as kinship disorder, pathological attachment, gender imbalances in domestic labor, and disillusionment within marital intimacy.
Working with April was an invaluable experience. As a professional curator and art practitioner, her philosophy of “sensing the space” as a foundation for curating an exhibition has been profoundly inspiring for me.
MZ: What was your biggest challenge while working on Bandaged Moments?
XZ: Moving away from the white cube has been both a challenge and a learning opportunity for me. Abandoning the neat and orderly format of the white cube does not merely mean accepting that the walls are not pristine or that there is no wall text; instead, it involves recognizing that the space is a lived environment. In curating at Tutu Gallery, I had to consider whether certain exhibition strategies might disrupt the lives of the inhabitants.
MZ: How did you go about selecting the title for Bandaged Moments?
XZ: Initially, I was drawn to the title “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain,” a poem by Emily Dickinson of the same title, which carries her characteristic eerie tone and instinctive magic in capturing the charm of linguistic alienation. However, after several discussions with April and a poll from the featured artists, a consensus was reached with the title “Bandaged Moments,” which is also from an Emily Dickinson Poem, The Soul Has Bandaged Moments. Ultimately, I chose “Bandaged Moments” per April’s suggestion because she felt it better aligned with Tutu’s vibe. The gallery space has its history and identity, and the funeral title might have been too intense and one-dimensional for an exhibition intended to explore the complexities embedded in intimate spaces.
Installation view of Bandaged Moments. Courtesy of Xiaojing Zhu and Tutu Gallery.
MZ: How does Bandaged Moments fit into your larger creative timeline and thematic interests?
XZ: The domestic space has always been a critical lens that reflects the larger societal context. The majority of artists in this exhibition come from Asian backgrounds. Regardless of the specific countries they hail from, a shared sense of nostalgia is deeply embedded in their work. These sentimental feelings resonate with and reveal a veiled narrative emerging from intimate spaces.
In her book Patriarchy and Capitalism: The Horizon of Marxist Feminism, Chizuko Ueno argues that Marx's analysis of capitalism overlooks the significance of women's unpaid domestic work, which is essential for social reproduction. These invisible labor dynamics contribute to systemic inequalities, and the correlation between small structures and larger socio-historical contexts needs to be uncovered somehow.
This exhibition was greatly influenced by a course, "Labor, Love, and Literature in China," taught by Professor Nicholas Bartlett at Columbia. In one of the sessions, we discussed the dynamics of love between intimate and public spaces in Chinese society since the 1950s. The labor structure within families, experienced by individuals, in fact reflects the social status of women at large in the country’s early years. This area of study is fascinating to me and ties to a lot of my personal research.
In Bandaged Moments, Elaine Xuhong Chen’s work reflects her perspective as a mother of two children, particularly her views on the division of domestic labor within the family. There is a lot to unpack regarding labor and the undefinable tension/attachment embedded in our relationship with our parents. In Sidian Liu’s work, she creates a series of photographs that evoke the illusion of being “at home with her family,” despite having moved out and unable to stay with her parents during the COVID quarantine.
This exhibition allowed me to bring together many promising artists whose work focuses on intimate relationships, the anxieties they encounter in a family setting, and their interactions with their partners.
MZ: What excites you about the current curatorial environment? Where do you see yourself going next?
XZ: From a broader perspective, I am optimistic because contemporary theories have greatly expanded exhibition themes beyond traditional art history, allowing for the exploration of geopolitics, gender, the Anthropocene, cybernetics, and the philosophy of technology. This open environment encourages interdisciplinary curatorial practices and enriches the public understanding of arts and culture, enabling me to integrate sociological and philosophical concepts into exhibitions.
As for my future plans, I will still be focusing on localization and geopolitics. I am currently collaborating with Hazel Sun and KK Yukai Chen to establish a visual strategy studio called aaan studio, which is dedicated to supporting emerging talents in systematic archiving and branding.
The interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
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