In traditional social narratives, retirement is frequently portrayed as the conclusion of one's professional identity—a transition in functional roles. However, artist Ge Yulu proposes an alternative perspective: when the body ceases to function solely as an "instrument of labor" and instead becomes a medium for self-expression, and when space evolves from a vessel of efficiency into a creative artistic domain, life unfolds in entirely new dimensions.
Informed by this philosophy, the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art invited Ge Yulu to curate the "Basic Class of Performance Art" program. Structured as a seven-day curriculum, the project utilizes performance art as a methodological framework to conduct an experimental investigation into the interplay of body, time, and space. Throughout the program, the artist and instructors guide participants in re-evaluating daily life: exploring bodily language through interactions with everyday objects, constructing improvisational theatrical spaces in dance studios, and recalibrating temporal perception through action. In this context, age no longer serves as a limitation on expression but rather an advantage of experience and perception.
