Le Xi Visit to PS1’s The Gatherers: Reflections on Found-Object Art
Recently, I visited PS1’s The Gatherers exhibition. While the show explores themes of accumulation, waste, and the afterlives of everyday objects, it largely continues the “found-object recycling” path established since Duchamp. Although historically rich, the exhibition felt somewhat distant from contemporary life and offered limited experimentation with new media or conceptual breakthroughs.
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To illustrate a different approach, I reflected on my own projects that also deal with objects and daily experiences. In “The Union of Self and Objects”, I collected items I’ve carried over the past 20 years and used stop-motion animation on my smartphone to rearrange and animate them. This practice explores the interaction between my body, personal belongings, and the digital age, revealing the subtle ways objects carry the traces of lived experience.
Le Xi, The Union of Self and Objects, video, 01:11(Loop), dimensions variable, 2023
Similarly, “In Sync” engages with saplings, synchronizing my movements with theirs to sense their fleeting fragility and the delicate balance they maintain with the environment. By focusing on bodily perception and ephemeral natural motion, this work demonstrates another way objects and life can be experienced and connected.
Le Xi, In Sync, video, 01:03(Loop), dimensions variable, 2023
These projects highlight that found objects, bodies, and daily life can be dynamically perceived and redefined, providing a perspective that complements, rather than replicates, the historical practices represented in The Gatherers. What other ways can we reimagine our connection with objects in everyday life?
