About Present Arrival

Present Arrival was the solo exhibition that ran from May 5th to the 27th, 2017. It was at the Leedy Volkous Gallery, in Kansas City, as a part of Undergrads Underground.  

Below are the various elements related to this exhibition.

Exhibition Statement

What is home? Where is home? Present Arrival invokes nostalgic memory using romanticized symbols from Xiaolei McKean's childhood growing up in China within an American household.  These transitions between cities and cultures activates an exploration into notions of belonging and memory, resulting in a visual metaphor to describe a unique Chinese cultural experience.  In this way, the physical forms of Meckean's work are tangible memories -- an evidence of the hand.

The exhibition thus is evidence of a mark and place of belonging, contemplating the identity of a person who has no concrete physical location of "home," but describes "home" from an experience-based perspective.

Included work

You can find additional images by clicking on the work link, and selecting the piece individually.

Postcard

The postcard was printed using a risograph printer.  This made the postcard look more worn and less perfect, a feel that would match the personal experience of the exhibition.  I could only print 100, so the postcards ended up becoming a special reminder of Present Arrival. 

Brochure

Instead of placards next to each piece, I decided to create a print out brochure in order to make the exhibition an experience rather than a focus on the strict traditional gallery format.

Vinyl

Vinyl was also created for the wall, to create a seamless entry into the exhibition space.