Getting into Candice Lin: Seeping, Rotting, Resting, Weeping at the Walker Art Center

By IASP. 

Entering the artist Candice Lin's "Seeping, Rotting, Resting, Weeping" is the closest experience to becoming Alice in Wonderland. Perhaps one of the first Alice's Wonderland drafts to be more precise. The one in which you attend a tea party with white rabbits puking at each other's mouths. Mr. Cheshire Cat doesn't stop staring at you because he suspects you're planning to steal his meth. Yes, the one -he claims- makes him invisible. While, in my opinion, this draft is the best, it never got the approval of a single publisher. I lost the point. Let's get back to Candice Lin. 

Image taken by Candice Lin and Francois Ghebaly

This installation is an experience of a multi-layer cake. A big opened room. Its center occupied by a nomadic tent crowned with indigo flags and guarded by animals. Anthropomorphic statues that guide your journey across multiple digital media works.

It feels surreal. Shaking and feeling uncomfortable is strongly encouraged. Candice Lin aims to analyze our past, present, and future through a different perspective. "Faster and faster," would your half-naked spiritual animal but depraved one would shout. Indigo textiles and ceramic beasts everywhere. 

Image taken by Candice Lin and Francois Ghebaly

We are half the book. The real experience starts here, the main performer about to play. Those who enter the Himalaya-style tent must take their shoes as they access the second layer of this unique experience. We are inside the base camp of the opposite -upside-down- escalate. You enter, find a place, and sit. The tea party is about to start. "Faster and faster." You take seat between two statues of an intelligible breed of felines. We are staring at the screen in front of us, watching. The TV is old very old. The kind that broadcasted Neil Armstrong's Moon landing. 

Surprise, faster, surprise. This was never a theater. We were fouled by the main beast dressed as a demonic cat for the occasion. A demonic nighmarish cat person -perhaps a pig?- is leading today's show. We're invited to listen tonight's story telling with headphones that are handled with a twisted smile. The real Alice's Wonderland begins from here. You may not be disappointed at the end of the demon cat's tale. 

Image taken by Evan Frost 

Surrounded by ceramic, looking so living, yet motionless. Silence, all around, but the voice of the demonic cat narrating tonight's show. Candice Lin's installation provoked a strong impression on me. I recommend to attend the Walker Art Center to explore Candice's Wonderland. Remember to take your shoes off before entering the tent. 

Candice Lin's work is going to be displayed at the Walker Art Center until January 2, 2022.