The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) commissioned Vivien Zhang to devise a new artwork for the reception spaces of a mixed-use building opposite the iconic Wembley Arena. Wembley as a site of flux is key to this artwork – its culturally diverse populations, many of whom are not originally from the area, the physical use of the various venues and infrastructure, the opportunities for gathering and shared experiences and the ongoing regeneration of the area. Commissioned by CAS, Cartographer’s Fugue is an ambitious and ground-breaking artwork for London-based painter Vivien Zhang. The title of the work plays with the double meaning of the word fugue: relating both to a musical motif in which a phrase (like Zhang’s Gömböc) is repeated by two or more voices and begins to change; and to a psychological state of memory loss and the urge to travel to establish a new identity.

Image courtesy of Contemporary Art Society, photo by Chris Winter