OFFICE
Exhibtion: OFFICE
Artist: Chen Gao, Xu Jing, J Yueqiao Ma, Lisha Nie, Hwichan Ko, Kyu Ho Lee, Li XinLi, Song Lu, Yan Li, Autumn Rose, Shane Yang, Yuhan Sun, Ma TingYing, Wei Wu & Qinyang(Karl)Zong
Curator: Tong Wang, Fu Xianzhi
Date: 2023.5.5-5.7
Address: :iidrr Gallery, 162 Allen Street, New York
The exhibition "Office" is a space that explores the realities and higher dimensions of dysfunctionality. When different roles come together in the same space – office manager, employees, artists, viewers, and extraterrestrial beings – they create a new type of office ecology. The exhibition questions whether the suppression of class and identity by outsiders signifies the dissolution of human societal rights.
The digital art pieces by J Yueqiao Ma and Xu Jing explore the infinite creativity and possibilities of digital art. Using a futuristic perspective, they respectively lead the audience into a new virtual future office world with imaginative games, animation elements, and deconstructions of female identity and body. They demonstrate the unique beauty and aesthetic value of combining digital technology and traditional practice.
In the exhibition, Li Xin Li, Hwichan Ko, Yuhan Sun, Chen Gao, and Kyu Ho Lee's painting works collectively explore the vulnerability of individuals in contemporary capitalist society and their ups and downs in real life. The concrete and abstract paintings of the artists blending with each other, injecting multiple layers of visual expression into the exhibition. The contrasting colors, black and white comparisons, and reflections on values such as honor and pride constantly remind us of the limitations of reality and the need for deep thinking about the future.
The video art by Song Lu and Lisha Nie uses intensive camera language and meticulous composition to reveal the plight of workers in modern society from both visual and linguistic perspectives.
The office plant installation works by WeiWu & Qingyang (Karl) Zone range from real plants to artificial plants to virtual plants. By incorporating natural symbolic objects into daily life as technological assembly office plants, the artists lead the audience to explore the multiple interweaving and entanglement of nature, society, politics, and culture from the perspective of media research. Autumn Rose's installation work calls for attention to the inner world of workers, emphasizes mental health, and reflects on the attitude and values of modern society towards labor.
During the opening performance of the exhibition, Shane, Yan Li, and Ma Tingying's performance art created a disturbing scene. The limited social resources, powerless resistance, and lack of choice exposed the restrictions of class identity and the hidden exploitation in the reality. It showcases the pathological form of today's society – The Burnout Society.
The "Office" exhibition aims to explore the relationship between the traditional and rigid structure of office life and the fluidity of modern society. As a rigid space, the artists attempt to counteract this solidified environment with a variety of artworks, gradually replacing it with a fluid environment, and practicing a more free and liquid life.