If a Turtle Could Talk

Earthly Delight, Ed Pien. “if a turtle could talk” exhibition view, curated by Yuluo Wei

Imagine you wake up in a foggy forest one night, and find a tiny creature—neither human nor animal—knocking at your door. How would you react?  

In an age where the human world is well analyzed and excessively explained, we continue to (re)imagine. From clan ancestors to messengers of God, and from legendary heroes to hunted demon beings, narratives of mythical creatures are constantly reinterpreted and re-appear in the contemporary context. The German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein famously wrote: “If a lion could talk, we would not understand him.” If we could understand these creatures’ languages, what would they say? With this question as a departure point, the exhibition If a Turtle Could Talk features large-scale works by three artists who share an interest in mythical creatures as a way of understanding ourselves and the world we live in today, differently.

Xiaojing Yan 闫晓静
Mountains of Pines, 2017–2018
Far From Where You Divined, 2017–2018
Courtesy of the artist
Xiaojing Yan 闫晓静
Mountains of Pines, 2017–2018
Far From Where You Divined, 2017–2018
Courtesy of the artist
An’Xiong Qiu 邱黯雄
New Book of Mountains and Seas III, 2017
video 30 minutes
Courtesy of the artis
An’Xiong Qiu 邱黯雄
New Book of Mountains and Seas III, 2017
video 30 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Ed Pien (边亦中)
Earthly Delights, 2001-2004
Courtesy of the artist
Ed Pien (边亦中)
Earthly Delights, 2001-2004
Courtesy of the artist

Featuring works by Ed Pien, An’Xiong Qiu, and Xiaojing Yan, and accompanied by the story of If a Turtle Could Talk, the exhibition creates a confluence of intuitive, poetic, and visual narratives that blur the distinctions between reality and fiction, exploring presence and absence through a fascination with strangeness and a sense of displacement. If a Turtle Could Talk produces a spellbinding and playful environment where visitors are invited to delve into the richness of imaginary world(s), resonating with us on a visceral, emotional, and evocative level across diverse worldviews.

The exhibition is accompanied by the story of Papa Turtle, a Star Postman who inadvertently travels from his mossy forest home to the human world, and sends letters back to Little Turtle, questioning the connection to nature, their understanding of time, history, knowledge, assimilation, and even their own existence. 

This exhibition is produced as part of the requirements for the MVS degree in Curatorial Studies at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto.


If a Turtle Could Talk


Works by: Ed Pien, An’Xiong Qiu, Xiaojing Yan


October 28 – November 21, 2020
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery

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