The Social Contract
A Constructed World

Spring Workshop presents The Social Contract, a work by A Constructed World. This work invites the audience to sign a legally-binding Participation and Confidentiality Agreement in order to enter the space. In doing so, the viewer becomes part of a temporary community of silent participants for a set period of days, agreeing not to disclose what they have seen. (Find the agreement on the Spring Workshop Archive Dropbox.)

The Social Contract anticipates what we can discover or express by not-speaking about something. It creates the possibility for viewers to find relief from the responsibility of having to discuss what they experience, to not-say if they don’t yet know or maybe will never fully understand about the art work. The absence created by the agreement enables us to consider how we can be together without knowing and without saying. The Social Contract also implies that audience members make some awareness of their own production and to see if it is possible as a group to change the relation between the subject and speech.

The Social Contract is the third act of the Moderation(s) project to be held at Spring, following the teaser event Guilty Pleasures by Ang Song Ming (August 2012), Incidents of Travel by Latitudes (January 2013) and A Fictional Residency (June 2013).

**We regret that no one under 18 years old will be able to sign the contract to enter the room due to issues of legal majority.

Opening reception: Friday, November 1, 6-9pm

Ongoing exhibition:
November 2 – December 15, 2013
Tues-Sun, 12-6pm

Spring Workshop, A Constructed World and Heman Chong would like to extend special thanks to Roger Ouk, who wrote about his thoughts on creating the contract for ArtAsiaPacific here.

A Constructed World is represented by Solang Production Paris Brussels.

“A Constructed World on An Artwork You Can’t Talk About” by Zoe Li (Blouin Artinfo, Nov 4, 2013)

“When the artwork is the contract” by Edmund Lee (48 Hours, SCMP, October 31, 2013)

“The Social Contract” by Ysabelle Cheung (TimeOut Hong Kong, October 26, 2013)

  • DateNovember 1 - December 15, 2013
  • PlaceSpring
  • TypeExhibition
  • CostFree

A Part of Moderation(s)

Moderation(s) is an ongoing collaboration that will unfold in 2013/4 between Spring Workshop, Hong Kong, and Witte de With, Rotterdam. Conceived as an anthology of active proposals, Moderation(s) brings together an international group of artists, curators and writers in a year-long program of contemporary discourse and production between the two organisations. Within this framework, the artist Heman Chong will steer the project which will involve more than 50 artists and engender a conference, three exhibitions, three residencies and a book of short stories. Please click here to read more about the program.

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