You write, I edit – I write, you edit

Since finishing teaching at AIVA at the end of August, the past few weeks have become a freelance wonderland in the realm of arts writing. Words have literally been going to every corner of the globe for different creative means – exhibition texts, catalogues, journals, magazines and, of course as you are reading here and now, online. Over the past few days, I have jumped in on helping with the copy editing of the catalogue for the impending 9th Shanghai Biennale 2012 – ‘Reactivation’ that opens on 1st October at the brand new Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum, a restored industrial building that used to be a thermal power plant as shown below. I actually took this photo the day I had my bike crash, who knows why I was still trying to negotiate the city after it had happened. Last night was nearly an editing all nighter, (inappropriately) fueled by wine and sparkling rosé in the Shanghai Biennale office at 585 Nanchezhan Lu, a rather strange school-like building that used to be the offices for the Shanghai EXPO 2010. The texts included in this catalogue have come from so many different cities and countries that the level of English translation varies immensely with disjointed phrasing, lack of prefixes, grammatical spontaneity…you name it, it was there, making the process, in part, quite lengthy and painful. This is always one of the problematics of working on international art festivals but it teaches you a great deal at every step. I’m continuing the task all tomorrow morning.

Prior to this, I copy edited the entirety of the catalogue for the, again impending, Fourth Guangzhou Triennial 2012 – ‘The Unseen’, opening on the 28th September at the Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, and other offsite venues. Here is a sneak preview of what the book looks like. I haven’t even had the chance to hold it yet but it looks as though the texture of the cover is something quite special. I’m taken with the embossing of the text too. I head to Guangzhou on the 27th September for the snowball of opening events that will take place. The next few weeks up until I leave are going to be a contemporary art whirlwind that’s for sure.

In terms of other writing, my review of The 7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale has been finally published online with Randian. This is the first time I have written for them, and the first of many articles. Also, I am in the final stages of editing an interview article with the UK academic Paul Gladston that is to be published in print, fingers crossed, nearer the end of the year. I need to get that done this week. Note to self. My words are gaining momentum lately, which gives me hope that my PhD thesis will get written in the next twelve months. Completely possible right? What could possible distract me?