All And Nothing

“All and Nothing” presents the filmmaker’s attempts to uncover and translate the complex life of the late conceptual artist, journeyman and visionary Li Yuan-Chia. It does so by exploring his unlikely path from Mainland China in the shadow of World War II to martial law era China, Taiwan, 1950s Milan and Bologna in Italy, Swinging Sixties London, to his 1971 establishment of the L.Y.C. Museum & Gallery in rural Cumbria.The L.Y.C was a miracle of hard work and determination where Li, exhibited more than 300 artists from around the world. The film shows that it became a vital hub, providing the local community with a site promoting art and artistic practices that transcended nation, race, and class. The documentary paints a portrait of Li as an industrious outsider who faced considerable hardship and xenophobia, a remarkable, resolute figure who stood calmly and defiantly against the mainstream capitalist art market until the end. Although he ultimately saw his life as a failure, the film invites us to reevaluate his legacy. Li’s interpretation of Lao Tzu's Taoist philosophy “All and Nothing” reflects his life and work, an unsettled, undefined, margin-walking quest. “A point can be all and nothing”