UCCA Offsite

Millennium Mambo
A “City on the Edge” Joint Exhibition with UCCA Edge

2021.6.5 - 2021.7.11

About

Location:  Shanghai Columbia Circle Tsutaya Books

The inaugural exhibition at UCCA Edge, “City on the Edge: Art and Shanghai at the Turn of the Millennium,” joins Tsutaya Books at Columbia Circle in Shanghai to present the joint exhibition "Millennium Mambo,” transforming Shanghai Columbia Circle Tsutaya Books into place to stroll and reflect on the remarkable year of the new millennium: the year when China’s art world and marketization were about to be changed by rapid development,  as well as the beginning of global economic integration, urbanization at breakneck speed, and the online economy's explosive boom.

The exhibition begins with audio recordings of the oral history of the year 2000, as collected by the curatorial team of “City on the Edge" at UCCA Edge, from artists who were active in the nascent art scene such as Hu Jieming, Ni Jun, Shi Yong and Yang Fudong, who recount the urban and social conditions at the time and their personal memories of that era, transporting the audience back to the vibrant scene itself with their individual voices and emotions. The exhibition also features rare original sketches from Zhang Enli and Shi Yong, a never-before-seen video work by Zhou Xiaohu, and a work shown simultaneously at “City on the Edge”—a TV documentary of the 2000 Shanghai Biennale, shot and produced by then-state-media producer Fang Fang,  which becomes the sonic backdrop of the entire “Millennium Mambo.”

In dialogue with the exhibition area, the bookstore features a selection of exhibition catalogues and publications related to the themes of the exhibition. Two glass displays are installed among the bookshelves as if time capsules, recalling past memories that still bear connections with us today. Lastly, UCCA Edge and Shanghai Columbia Circle Tsutaya Books invite visitors from around the world to submit their own photos and stories about the turn of the millennium—together, they assemble the most valuable pieces in this exhibition. This exhibition is curated by Qian Mengni and Lin Luqi at the exhibition department of UCCA Edge.

Works in the exhibition

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Fang Fang

Arts and Artists: Shanghai

2000
TV documentary
60'46"
Courtesy the artist

WALKER magazine

March issue, 2001

Shi Yong

Original sketches from the "Gallery Scenery Seris"

Courtesy the artist

Zhou Xiaohu

Idol

1998
Animation
6'00"
Courtesy the artist

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Installation Views

Installation Views

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About Shanghai Columbia Circle Tsutaya Books

Shanghai Columbia Circle Tsutaya Books is the second Tsutaya Books in China, the first Tsutaya Books in Shanghai. It opens on 24 December 2020 in Columbia Circle. The Western-style building of Columbia Country Club has been refurbished preserving the original interior and now re-opens as Tsutaya Books. Designed by Elliott Hazzard and completed in 1924, it was selected as one of Shanghai’s most outstanding historical buildings.

Spanning over an area of about 2,000㎡, Shanghai Columbia Circle Tsutaya Books offers a curated selection of books, magazines, stationery, handcrafted products and other lifestyle goods, as well as a gallery, a cafe and a restaurant. The concept of the bookstore is “aesthetic education”. We wish to create a place where customers find inspiration and new ideas that enrich their lifestyle. The interior design of this building preserves its original components and creates a fusion of classic and contemporary, space and time. The first floor’s theme is “pursuit of knowledge”. With the original fireplace and columns preserved, the space is in harmony with history. The second floor is the opposite, a contemporary space designed to “hone one’s sensibility”.

To satisfy customers in Shanghai, we have filled the space with books and magazines that propose ideal lifestyle in the bookstore. Moreover, we aim to offer aesthetic and educational experience through the “art corridor” compiling art books from all over the world, a section with “BIG BOOKS” that are art in themselves, a gallery where people can enjoy art exhibitions. In the future, we will host more and more cultural events to create more possibilities for the city and people's daily life.