At the joint discussion with CAP on Thursday, I heard many young artists share their works. Among them, the works of these four artists, with the help of different media and narrative methods, impressed me.
Women in the Ocean: Future Adapters? (Huang Yi, “The Power of Ocean Women”)
Huang Yi’s work focuses on marine pollution and the adaptability of future humans. In this imagined world, women survive better in the marine environment, and the mask, as a symbol of women, suggests a new evolutionary possibility. The AI-generated resume is even more dramatic, raising a question: When the social environment changes, will women’s ability to survive and adapt become an advantage? This is not only a response to the ecological crisis, but also a reflection on gender roles in the future society.
Hidden Angel: What is behind the beauty? (San, “Undercover Angel”)
San’s work revolves around female characteristics and explores the concept of female image and beauty. The title of the work “Undercover Angel” seems to imply a dual identity – women are expected to conform to society’s definition of beauty, but also need to “hide” their true needs to some extent. This visual metaphor makes people think: when beauty becomes an idea rather than an individual choice, is women’s autonomy weakened?
Inaudible disaster: How does capital shape reality? (Ju Keyi, “How Capital Makes Disaster Invisible”)
Ju Keyi’s work uses a sound installation to simulate a meeting conversation in the bathroom – the audience can hear the discussion, but cannot intervene. The work reveals how capital uses the logic of communication to make the real problem “quiet” and hidden. This curatorial approach reminds people of many social issues in reality, such as the information control of the government or enterprises in crisis public relations. When the voice of the solution is deliberately lowered, how many options do we have left? The reporting phone installation in the work is a helpless response to social dilemmas.
Fragment Reorganization: Memory Puzzle of Marginal Groups in Society (Xudong Jia, “Hospital/Monastery”)
Xudong Jia’s work explores the identity of marginalized groups in society (the elderly, the disabled, etc.) through the collage of broken porcelain pieces. The porcelain pieces that were intact when they were picked up were broken and reorganized in the work and became part of the wall repair. This metaphor expresses the role of marginalized people in society: they were originally independent individuals, but they are often destroyed and reshaped in the social structure to serve a larger system. When fragments become part of a whole, do they still have their own stories?
These works raise social issues in different ways, and the audience is not only an observer, but also a thinker. They show us that contemporary art is not only an exploration of aesthetics, but also a critical response to reality.
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