CAUGHT: DISTRICT 798

CAUGHT: DISTRICT 798
WHOSE STORY IS IT?

In 2017, Think Tank Presents collaborated with Firefly Productions to create DISTRICT 798, a genuine art show that lied to its audience. The show was sponsored by Mezcal El Silencio, Kin White Whiskey, and Dosist Vape Pens.

DISTRICT 798, was a partially fictional, groundbreaking show of new work by multicultural artists inspired by China's dissident Xiong Collective.

It was advertised as a rare, special event Think Tank hosting the exiled Xiong member Lin Bo for exclusive presentations of his latest work, CAUGHT.

The fictional character of Lin Bo (b.1976, Shanghai) was a Chinese conceptual artist most often associated with the so-called confrontation movement. He was the first member of the Xiong Collective to speak publicly in the US. In 2012, he was jailed in China for two years as a direct result of his art piece "Rally."

In CAUGHT, Mr. Lin recounted "Rally" and shared details of life inside Detention Center 7. In keeping with his past work, Mr. Lin's harrowing tale became a piece of performance art itself, until it devolved into something completely unexpected.

Think Tank Gallery also presented an art exhibit of real, multicultural talent, all of mixed heritage, to complement the deceptive performance piece. Many audience members who were misled through the riveting story – which folded in on itself by breaking fourth walls, constructing new ones, and breaking those yet again – left the show feeling taken aback at the misleading and dicey subject matter.

By its nature, this piece is impossible to describe. LA Times published an article about it that comes close. No Proscenium called it a “mindfuck.” We helped produce the show, and we struggle to even explain what it was.