WEEK9 AVANT-PRISM: SPRING IN ART
Date: 17 March 2025, 15:00-17:00.
Venue: Summerhall, Edinburgh.
Attendees:Peiyao Lyu, Tianyi Chen, Tianrui Li, Beini Cai, Yuge Dai, Jianglu Xiao, Yuewen Sun, Qu Chu, Qiqi Yang, Jiayang Yang, Jiamin Zhu.
In our recent panel discussion, we shared and explored a number of art exhibitions and artists’ works around the theme of Spring, showing how different media and curatorial approaches can capture the vitality and symbolism of spring.
Group photo of flowers
Collective in discussion
Some of the artworks we mentioned
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In Spring: A New Attempt at Virtual Exhibition
Presenter: Jiamin Zhu
In the age of digitalisation, virtual exhibitions are gradually becoming a new form of art display. In Spring is an online exhibition that explores the imagery of spring, presenting the interpretation of spring in different cultural contexts through digital painting, photography and interactive media. Visitors can immerse themselves in a vibrant visual world and experience how digital art breaks the limitations of physical space, allowing viewers to experience the beauty of spring anytime, anywhere.
In Spring, VB Contemporary.
My Reflections
In Spring, presented by Jiamin Zhu, is a virtual exhibition that explores the imagery of spring and presents interpretations of spring in different cultural contexts through digital painting, photography and interactive media. This exhibition made me think about several key issues.
Firstly, the advantages and limitations of virtual exhibitions. In Spring embodies the unique advantages of virtual exhibitions, such as breaking through the limitations of physical space so that viewers can enjoy artworks anytime and anywhere. This made me wonder whether digital exhibitions can completely replace physical exhibitions. Although virtual space offers convenience and immersion, will it lack the spatial experience and live interaction that physical exhibitions bring?
Secondly, digital art and cultural narratives. The exhibition presents interpretations of spring in different cultural contexts through digital media, which makes me think about how digital art can become a carrier of cultural narratives. The symbolism of spring varies in different cultures, for example, ‘spring returns to the earth’ in Chinese culture symbolises new life and hope, while Western culture may place more emphasis on the romance and recovery of spring. How can the exhibition effectively convey these cultural differences in a virtual space?
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Blooming Wonders: A Natural Experience with Interactive Installation
Presenter: Tianrui Li
Blooming Wonders is an offline exhibition that combines installation art and audience interaction, inviting people to ‘plant’ virtual flowers in the exhibition space to symbolise the continuation and growth of life. This interactivity not only enhances the audience’s sense of participation, but also allows them to reflect on the relationship between human beings and nature during the art experience, echoing the theme of the revival of all living things in spring.
Blooming Wonders, 2025.
Presenter: Tianyi Chen, Jianglu Xiao
Rebecca Louise Law has been collecting flowers since 2003, and not only does she utilise waste flowers eliminated from the commercial flower industry, but she also accepts donations from gardens around the world and even grows her own flowers. She places special emphasis on cherishing what the earth has given us. Law mentions that using withered flowers as a material allows her to explore the culture of capitalism and our never-ending desire for ‘more’ things. She says that when she looks at a flower that never dies, she sees time, life, existence and even death – but in between there is a spiritual realm that allows us to stop, think and feel about life.
La Fleur Morte, Rebecca Louise Law, 2025.
La Fleur Morte, Rebecca Louise Law, 2025.
References
ARTECHOUSE. “Blooming Wonders”. Accessed March 16, 2025. https://www.artechouse.com/program/blooming-wonders/.
Law, Rebecca Louise. “La Fleur Morte”. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.rebeccalouiselaw.com/lafleurmorte.
