Curatorial Statement :
In natural ecosystems, survival hinges on cyclical processes. Similarly, digital realms rely on cycles for their functionality. Those wielding technological control have the ability to initiate and shape these cycles, setting the stage for new systems to emerge. As participants in both ecosystems and virtual worlds, humans have developed intricate internal frameworks to understand their significance. Yet, the question remains: will these cycles endure into the distant future?
An Unseen Distance contemplates our constitution within these systems and our role in shaping the future. It explores the interplay of conscious and unconscious methods in defining our self-awareness, where the past represents familiarity, the distant holds allure and mystery, and the unseen distance embodies the enigmatic unknown.
Using light paths as a guiding motif, the exhibition delves into the process of self-revelation amidst the rapid pace of modern life. Electronic screens delineate the boundaries between past and future, as viewers navigate solitary exploration in darkness. Within this context, the exhibition portrays the tension and transformation of organic forms, revealing hidden pathways amidst the dominance of human influence and primal instincts.
9th Feb - 15th Mar 2024
An Unseen Distance
Curatorial Statement
Exhbition Plan
Participating Artists
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Curatorial Team
Exhibition Photos
Exhibition Plan:
A
B
C
D
Venue:
Xuzhou Citywall Museum, Xuzhou, China
A: Cocoonloo, Beiyi Wang
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B: HAIR, Yin Chi
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C: Window, Ke Ren
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D: Domination and Affection, Weilan Zha
MORE INFO ABOUT ARTWORKS & ARTISTS
Participating Artists:
Yin Chi, Ke Ren, Beiyi Wang, Weilan Zha
Yonghong Li (Public programme)
Curatorial Team:
Curators: Haoyue Chen, RuiXi Li, Chufan Lu, Kun Yu, ShuHan Zhang
Graphic Design: Youyi Dai, Dual Design
Organiser: CHINCHIN ART Collective
Exhibition Photos:
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1: Installation View, Exhibtion Poster
2: Installation View, Domination and Affection by Weilan Zha
3: Installation View, Domination and Affection by Weilan Zha
4: Installation View, Plan Reloaded by Yonghong Li
5: Installation View, Plan Reloaded by Yonghong Li
6: Installation View, Temporary Sea Creation by Yonghong Li
Photographer: Shuhan Zhang*
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7: Installation View, Everything From Yesterday Has Become Me by Weilan Zha
8: Installation View, Everything From Yesterday Has Become Me by Weilan Zha
9: Installation View, Everything From Yesterday Has Become Me by Weilan Zha
10: Installation View, Hair by Yin Chi
11: Installation View, Cocoonloo by Beiyi Wang
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Photographer: Shuhan Zhang*
More pics ...
Public Programme: An Ongoing Archive
On February 9, 2024, “Questioning at the Center: How We Fictionalise the Past, the Present, and the Future” was officially exhibited at the Sunken Plaza of Xuzhou City Wall Museum, where the art project will run until March 15, 2024.
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Contemporary art curator Ndikon suggests that exhibitions are an alternative spatial expression of writing, that curatorial practices shape the way exhibitions are organized, and that spaces and curatorial practices, in general, have become spaces of critical reflection. In these spaces, certain socio-political phenomena and cultural or economic paradigms can be reassessed, and certain theoretical and practical norms can be challenged, renegotiated, and re-proposed.
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In fact, perhaps one of the tasks of the exhibition - certainly not the only one - is to devise tools, paths, and strategies on how to break out of the frame, or even detonate it altogether. Forgetting is not forgetting; it is not deleting, cancelling, or burning. It's writing and re-writing more boldly. It is commenting and questioning. It provides new footnotes to old narratives and other narratives. It is wiping away the dust, cleaning up the grass, and knocking down the plaster on top of the plaster that has been wiped away.
The project "At the Center: How We Fictionalise the Past, the Present, and the Future" uses the medium of on-site creation to investigate and collect forces that transcend the limits of time, acting as an audio-visual historical archive related to the construction of memory and identity, and forming a network of responses to it by artists from different backgrounds. As the archive of "At the Center: How We Fictionalise the Past, Present and Future" grows richer with each year's additions by different curators and creators, we hope to enrich the depth of the exhibition while deepening the Wall Museum's archival record, and making the connection between ancient architecture and contemporary art ever closer.
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Critical thinking shapes the different forms of the exhibition, either far-reaching or poignant. Based on the creator's thoughts, Questioning at the Center: How We Fictionalise the Past, the Present, and the Future combines localization and creative work to better explore the boundaries of creativity and breadth of thought.
The first artwork in this public art program is a changing wave formed by countless foam balls, which discusses each person's different perceptions of space and time through a temporarily constructed scenario. By changing the direction of the foam balls and the level by laying sand on the ground, the viewers of the exhibition consciously or unconsciously intervene, interacting with the work and leaving their own unique traces, which will be transformed into a luminous sea that can be seen at night.
The second artwork in this public art program is a performance experiment related to the social environment, using the fake lawn used for urban construction site barriers as a material that can be "repaired", finding a series of "broken" or in need of repair in the city, and filling them with the fake lawn; broken ground, worn out and deserted walls, tree trunks after human intervention, and even wounds on the body; these places in need of repair through behavioral intervention - a tree trunk after human intervention, and even wounds on the body.
These places in need of repair become obvious through the intervention of behavior and the covering of the fake lawn, and the sudden appearance of the "lawn" in the environment evokes people's thoughts; through such a "repair" material, the "lawn" can be "repaired". Through this "restoration" behavior, the relationship between the individual and the urban environment is discussed, as well as implying the impact of human beings on the environment.
Participating Artists:
Yonghong Li
Weilan Zha
Born in 1997, she is now a graduate student at the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Her current creative direction focuses on the present, often observing the social environment in a state of "wandering”. By challenging the limitations of daily experience, She attempts to transform these observations and reflections into a common experience, creating dialog and communication with the audience.Recent exhibitions he has participated in include "2021 Central Academy of Fine Arts Undergraduate Graduation Exhibition", "2021 Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale", and "A Thousand Dimensional Dream" at the Malaysian College of the Arts in 2023.Her recent works include "Temporary Sea", "Reload Project", "Visibility", etc. She reconstructs the visual field through video, installation and performance, and through the creation of works that challenge the conventional way of perception, she tries to use her own experience to dialog with the present, and stimulate the audience to think about the way of perception and to re-examine it.
Currently lives and studies in Ningbo. In addition to being an artist and photographer, the artist is also a fishing enthusiast with more than ten years of fishing experience, and has a strong interest in fish in the natural world.
His main creative media are installation, painting and video, and he specializes in various painting media. His paintings do not focus on narratives, but rather on the expression of images and emotions. His installation works focus on exploring the symbiotic relationship between human and nature, and develop a narrative around existentialism and de-anthropocentrism, attempting to stand in a dichotomy with human beings to think about our impact on other creations, and using mostly industrial ready-made products to reproduce and re-interpret the intertwining of the human industry and the whole of nature. His works have been selected for the 2022 China-France Universities Art and Design Exchange Exhibition.
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