Observation deck memorial

Following his passion James has been filling piles of notepads with sketches, remarks and annotations for new works, giving to each new project various placements and destinations. To disrupt the natural tranquility of the notepads and create harmony, James needs that extra glint bringing together his perceptions of the world.

Many of these ideas end up to be helpless bodies that have to wait for the mysterious wind of creativity and opportunity to blow in their direction again after some time has passed.  That’s what happened to this project idealized in 2001.
Ten years ago the twin towers burned and collapsed. The same towers that James photographed twelve days before the 9/11. The photographic sequence that was captured evokes a 360º panoramic view from the top of the towers. The terrorist attack impacted the final project and artwork, making his August 2001 trip to New York, in many ways, more extreme and meaningful.

Politicized rather than political the photographic images and consequent twin incense sticks towers installation wipe out any sense of violence and appeal to tell us a story of utterly significance paying tribute to the memory of the people and of the place. The concept and form of this installation radically rethinks reality and memory cleaning out every previous presumption of the attack and appealing to higher principles.

The willingness of James with this project was never tainted, even when one year after, in 2002, the exhibition was suddenly cancelled, just 10 days before the opening. At the time I was invited to coordinate with Carlos Morais José a face lifted gallery at the World Trade Center of Macau.

The detach between what we’ve imagined for the gallery and what the WTC Macau wanted caused the first exhibition to be unrealized, and the gallery never flourished. What James meant to communicate should not have been an issue but the WTC director failed to realize this, trapped within executive roles and moral conventions. Unfortunately it was not a surprise as this panorama probably occurs with most contemporary art when in the hands of dazed white collars corporate or government workers.

The fear of the unknown is a black cloth that crushes creativity.

It’s amazing that when you least expect it history repeats itself. The preparation for 2011 exhibition in Albergue had three main episodes: it was first confirmed to the artist about one year ago2 it was previously announced to the public about 6 months ago2 and it was cancelled, once again with no reasonable explanation, about three weeks before the opening.

It was finally displayed for the first time, for one night only, on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11, on the roof of a ten floors building, where Macau AFA is now located. The resultant happening was of touching effect.

Maybe there’s too much wishful thinking on the arts side and what might be pleasing to imagine is actually a matter subjected to control - a powerful weapon used by people with no real knowledge of the arts. The units of perception have become more and more nebulous and artists are played at will.

These abortive occurrences elevated this work to the status of a case study. Nevertheless that should not deviate us from the fact that no artwork must be suppressed even if it touches some sensitive issues. Of course easy to say and reality proves us differently. We all know that what is green to some people can be blue to others and that’s exactly what this exhibition is, green to some, blue to others, and that is a winning feature.

James prefers to leave his artwork open to individual interpretation. His comment provides an interesting framework where he addresses personal and societal wounds, eloquently aiming to heal and gain strength from the experience. His artwork is inspiring enough to capture the imagination and entices viewers to stay longer, constantly swapping the eyes and alternating between the photos and the slow burning of the incense.

The spectator is introduced to an observation, captured from a deck removed from our world with the attack, and taken to recall and mourn the dramatic events in silence. Audiences are well advised to take a deep breath before trying to unravel the series of references that inspired James Chu and conclusions his finished artwork encourage.

While we are still trying to figure out the meaning of the 9/11 overwhelming calamity we are also encouraged to abandon our inhibitions and let our passions lead us to fight against injustice and war. The outlandish utopia of a better life in absolute freedom was infected forever but somehow it doesn’t make it any less tempting to still believe in.

Of course a search for narrative will be frustrating since James’ idiosyncratic artwork correlates with the confusing and tragic events. It is never ending, and truly just a beginning.