Manque, Objet petite ‘a’
By Huiyu Lan • 19 August 2024
It looks like the poster for a suspense film—a sweep of arching red velvet curtains cascading into the frame from beyond, extending downward. The formally dressed man is shown only halfway—nothing is complete—including the exhibition title, Manque, Objet Petit ‘a’.
On August 19, 2024, Huiyu Lan curated an exhibition titled Manque, Objet Petit ‘a’ at the Greatorex Street Gallery. Huiyu Lan organized and brought together 13 artists with diverse backgrounds: Albie Romero, Casper Dillen, Debra Pollarini, Filippo Antonello, Hiromi Murai, Max King, Mingyue Feng, Penghang Liu, Sara Shishkova, Shuyu Wen, Xinde Ren, Yinuo Li, and Yijia Wu. The exhibition title Manque, Objet Petit ‘a’ is derived from Jacques Lacan’s writings in Écrits and his Séminaire, where he discusses the concept of “lack” (Manque) and its connection to desire. Lacan views “lack” as a core concept in shaping human subjectivity and as the driving force of desire. In his psychoanalytic theory, “lack” is not merely a subjective feeling but an inherent structural condition. It is not just an occasional or superficial emotion (such as a temporary sense of dissatisfaction), but rather a permanent structural void within the subject.
“Le désir est la relation de l’être à un manque.”
“Desire is the relationship between ‘being’ and ‘lack’.”
Regarding the exhibition title, Lan explains: “It describes the deep-seated sense of ‘lack’ in the human psyche, along with the symbolic object of unattainable desire, known as ‘objet petit a’; it is not a tangible item but a symbolic substitute that represents our yearning for a lost, original wholeness. In Lacan’s theory, this sense of lack is central to human existence. This inherent emptiness and state of desire drive people to continually seek fulfillments—attempting to fill the void within themselves, whether spiritually, materially, or emotionally. Confronting this fundamental lack and desire within human nature is a crucial step in the pursuit of wholeness.”
At the entrance to the space stands a wooden installation, titled Bed (Summer Losses) (2023), by Penghang Liu. A faint, mysterious light emanates from behind a prominent circular opening on the wooden panel, reminiscent of an idea or inspiration emerging from behind a bed’s headboard, gradually peeking through the hole. “Exploring the inner world of the individual has always been central to my art—from memory to the subconscious, from past events to those that continue to affect us,” Liu explain.
Upon entering the exhibition space, the first thing that catches the eye is a giant, hanging red velvet installation, appearing even more mysterious than on the promotional poster. The entire exhibition is dominated by red, a colour choice intended to evoke desire through visual stimulation, emotional associations, and primal instincts. From an evolutionary perspective, red is often linked to warning signals and reproductive states in the natural world. The work, titled Internal Tears (2024), embodies this curatorial intent, aiming to reflect and resonate with Lacan’s notion of desire as an intrinsic, structural condition. No one can remain indifferent to the emotional impact red invokes.
Xinde Ren created a short story with her imagination to accompany the piece: “As the protagonist approaches a state of eternal peace, she struggles against the fading of her emotions, born from a flood of blood only to be diluted in waves of information. Sadly, the loss of love brings with it a sense of defeat.” In this work, the artist reflects on the paradox between immortality and the desire for connection, shifting the focus from an endless external pursuit to a deepened attention to inner emotions.
The largest abstract painting on the right, in deep purple, covers the entire wall. Titled Oggetto6 (2023), this work is by Swiss artist Filippo Antonello. The artist applies bleach, producing a searing, transformative effect on cotton fabric, creating a new material composition. The result is a massive high-pitched symbol, subtly drifting between dark brown shadows. The symbol seems poised to disappear at any moment, as the thick canvas gently rises and falls in the play of light and shadow. The delicate layers whisper around the viewer’s gaze, evoking an indescribable depth and trance-like state. It appears to symbolize a sense of “loss” — perhaps an elusive moment or an invisible object that the artist is trying to capture, metaphorically representing humanity’s yearning for some ultimate fulfillment. Yet, this desire can only approach, never fully touched.
In front of Oggetto6, three wooden installation pieces by Greek artist Sara Shishkova are displayed under the title Navel Gazers (Self-Indulgents). These installations resemble tools of exotic creatures, their surfaces glazed with a shiny ceramic coating. A large, refurbished old door lies in the center of the space, with two black ceramic hearts placed on the door panel. Beneath the door, a book titled Tales of Love is faintly visible. Upon closer inspection, a dark gap appears to have been scorched into the back of the tool, as if marked by flames. The traces of time form a narrative rupture, and the curator intentionally scattered these objects around the space, pairing them with Oggetto6 to create a static composition, evoking a dramatic, ritualistic atmosphere. This arrangement inevitably sparks the question: How did the ancient stories begin?
On the left side of this corner are two abstract paintings painted by Italian artist Debra Pollarini placed together. There is emotion underneath the chaotic surface, with dark yellow and jumping colors subtly blended together. Next are woodblock prints by Spanish artist Albie Romero. His work stems from his Catholic upbringing. The oil painting Idolatry(2023) was inspired by his seeing the statue of Jesus holding the Sacred Heart in a cemetery, and he was deeply touched by people’s questioning of life, death and the unknown.
On the opening night, performance artist Casper Dillen organised a “date” happening titled Are We Still Friends? (2024). He invited several singles to participate in the exhibition and provided them with different “signals”: red socks, a watch on the left hand, a toothbrush, or a flower. On the day of the opening, participants used these symbolic items to find their potential partners. This work cleverly explores the relationship between absence and fulfilment, filled with associations and explorations of the unknown. On the opening night, one of the performers improvised and interacted with Mingyue Feng’s installation FLUX (2023). On a slender steel frame and transparent acrylic panel, a candle continuously burns itself, causing the center of gravity to sway. The performer dips a toothbrush into the dripping wax and brushes it over the teeth. Viewers stopped whispering, feeling nervous due to the performance.
The wax from these candles seems to drip onto Hiromi Murai’s encaustic painting Untitled (2024), where the artist expresses a longing for the source: “We need to return to the source, though the nature of this source is uncertain.” In the painting, rib-like undulations accumulate, with faintly visible blood vessels growing freely. Perhaps the thoughts, constantly pulsing beneath the surface, are gradually slowing down, moving toward a quiet and bright environment. This is reflected in Hiromi Murai’s other piece, Towards the serene and luminous place above (2024). In the painting, a dove appears as a sacred symbol. In Christianity, the dove represents the Holy Spirit and love. Amidst the micro-dunes of mineral pigments and dried flowers, it searches for a perfect homecoming.
The gaze follows Xinde Ren’s towering red installation upward to the space above—two abstractly simplified steel guns suspended in the air, their barrels aimed directly at each other. This is Regret (2024) by Shuyu Wen, creates dramatic tension, inviting the audience to become “witnesses” to this life-and-death game. Echoing this work is Votive Watching (2022) by British artist Max King. The material above the red box is a coffin handle with exquisite craftsmanship. Both works attempt to depict an individual’s reflection and self-examination of death.
Another corner is composed of the oil painting and a set of installation, Disclosure and Self-Violation (2023), by Yinuo Li. She attempts to translate abstract sensory experiences into concrete expressions on the canvas. Yijia Wu’s trio of works — A Pear is not a Pair (2023), Ladder (2023), and Chair—home puzzle (2023) — are thoughtfully composed into a complete scene. A Pear is not a Pair is a pear-shaped sculpture carved by hand from gypsum, featuring a pear stem made from a vintage spoon. In the artist’s culture, sharing a pear is believed to lead to separation, as the words “pear” and “separation” sound similar in Chinese. The artist uses durable, lasting stone to create a contradictory symbol that reflects humanity’s deep yearning for emotional connection, and the inevitable feeling of separation that can never be completely bridged.
Lacan believed that once humans enter the language system (the symbolic order), they inevitably experience a separation from the absolute completeness of the “real”. Language has its boundaries and can never fully convey the entirety of the real; therefore, when we express ourselves and construct our identities through language, an irreparable void is left within us. This absence forms a permanent blank in the structure of the subject. The exhibition aims to transcend the limitations of language by constructing a multisensory experience through light, scent, sound, and the dialogue between the works, responding to the themes explored and seeking expressions beyond language.
The curator, Huiyu Lan, presents a delicate yet tension-filled scenography, creating a dramatic spatial composition. This approach is rooted in her deep engagement with theatrical stage arts over the past decade. The exhibition Manque, Objet petite ‘a’ seems to pursue a sense of unreality. This “unreality” vividly sketches the visual embodiment of Lacan’s theory of desire, inviting the audience into an abstract sensory experience, where the feeling of absence is perceived as an eternal presence within the human psyche.
