Welcome to the Bunker Questionnaire, a series in which we ask Bunker Projects residents and exhibiting artists a few questions based on Marcel Proust’s famous Proust Questionnaire, a survey that purported to reveal a person’s true nature. We hope their answers and the accompanying photos allow you to get to know them and their work a little bit more.
Xinan Helen Ran creates scalable, research-driven installations and searches for the point where trauma, nihilism, and humor converge. Ranked “Highbrow and Brilliant” by the New York Magazine Approval Matrix, she is a MacDowell Fellow, a More Art Commission artist, and a NYSCA grant recipient, with exhibitions nationally and internationally. Xinan is an art educator, set designer, and arts worker based in Brooklyn. xinanran.work
Describe yourself in three words
“curious, focused, taurus”
Who are your favorite artists/the ones who’ve influenced you most?
“Slavs and Tartars! Aki Sasamoto! Janet Cardiff! Paul Ramirez Jonas! Martin Roth!”
What is your idea of happiness?
“When a project is finally mapped out conceptually, and all that’s left is the labor.”
Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration to recharge
“Go for a walk or wander around on YouTube. I think a long break after a big project is always needed for good mental health.”
What draws you to do artist residencies?
“A force reset- a new place to adjust to, that allow me to review my routines and build new ones”
Photography by Anna Brewer
If you’d like to support Bunker Projects’ mission to provide a safe, equitable space for emerging artists to develop their practice and create new works for exhibition, please consider making a one-time or recurring donation here. We are so grateful for your generosity.
