EDGE WATER, 2016. Installation view.Spine model, steel bars, wood, coconut shells, embroidered shoes, PVC pipes, etc.
Sculpture Draft,
Sculpture Draft.The artist perceives themselves as embodying the role of a hunter-gatherer, engaging with objects not as consumable commodities but as fundamental and tangible entities. For the artist, the act of gathering constitutes a vital mode of existence—an approach that fosters intimacy and adaptability. Having grown up in a socialist country shaped by an intense ideological pursuit of stability through control, the artist’s fluid identity and methodologies have provided a means of resisting rigidity and dogma. By attuning themselves to the intrinsic energy of objects, the artist transforms these materials into reflective surfaces, revealing insights into their own individuality and vitality.
Rooted in their traditional cultural heritage, the artist regards this background as a critical source of sustenance for their worldview. However, upon relocating to the United States, they encountered the overwhelming force of consumerism, which fundamentally altered their perception of objects. This cultural disjunction compelled the artist to critically examine the ideological underpinnings of consumerism and its entanglement with the enduring specter of Marxist critique.
Through the strategic incorporation of animistic and ritualistic frameworks, the artist interrogates the interplay between witchcraft and fetishism, particularly within the context of the supermarket—a dominant site of commodification and consumption. Drawing inspiration from the theoretical foundations of the Frankfurt School and Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, the artist seeks to dismantle the reductionist and monolithic frameworks governing contemporary interactions among humans, objects, and animals. Their practice endeavors to articulate new paradigms that emphasize the intricate interconnectivity of existence within a consumer-dominated cultural milieu.
This work was commition by the exhibition “You Won’t be Young Forever” which is outcome of field research, studio visits and ongoing discussion of the exhibition curator Biljana Ciric looking at the youngest generation of artists and their practice in China. While this exhibition doesn’t want to limit the artistic presentation to artists born after certain year, rather proposes to look loosely at generation born from mid 80’s to early 90’s and their works. This ongoing curatorial project tempts to support and expose youngest generation of artists at the very early stage of the practice and support their experimentation.
Reason for doing the exhibition at this specific moment reflects the current art system in China where young artists start their practice with gallery exhibitions and time and space for experimentation is extremely limited by the system. At the same time less and less artists organized exhibitions could be seen around the country that was strongest force for artists presenting their most radical experiments.
Rooted in their traditional cultural heritage, the artist regards this background as a critical source of sustenance for their worldview. However, upon relocating to the United States, they encountered the overwhelming force of consumerism, which fundamentally altered their perception of objects. This cultural disjunction compelled the artist to critically examine the ideological underpinnings of consumerism and its entanglement with the enduring specter of Marxist critique.
Through the strategic incorporation of animistic and ritualistic frameworks, the artist interrogates the interplay between witchcraft and fetishism, particularly within the context of the supermarket—a dominant site of commodification and consumption. Drawing inspiration from the theoretical foundations of the Frankfurt School and Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, the artist seeks to dismantle the reductionist and monolithic frameworks governing contemporary interactions among humans, objects, and animals. Their practice endeavors to articulate new paradigms that emphasize the intricate interconnectivity of existence within a consumer-dominated cultural milieu.
This work was commition by the exhibition “You Won’t be Young Forever” which is outcome of field research, studio visits and ongoing discussion of the exhibition curator Biljana Ciric looking at the youngest generation of artists and their practice in China. While this exhibition doesn’t want to limit the artistic presentation to artists born after certain year, rather proposes to look loosely at generation born from mid 80’s to early 90’s and their works. This ongoing curatorial project tempts to support and expose youngest generation of artists at the very early stage of the practice and support their experimentation.
Reason for doing the exhibition at this specific moment reflects the current art system in China where young artists start their practice with gallery exhibitions and time and space for experimentation is extremely limited by the system. At the same time less and less artists organized exhibitions could be seen around the country that was strongest force for artists presenting their most radical experiments.