Artist：Sun HaoyuanCurator：Xiao RuiyunOrganizer: Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art CentreDuration: June 27, 2020– July 26, 2020Venue: No. 301, Building 2, Xinglinwan Business Center, Jimei District, XiamenPREFACEStarting from QijiadunText / Sun Haoyuan Have you ever played with a bellflower? If you tear its little stem and swing all its petals close to your ears, you will hear the clear sound of a bell.I was born in a semi-rural, semi-urban environment – the sort of environment shared by a large group of people from my generation Today I live in the southernmost region of Shanghai, a place called Jinshan. Jinshan is the epicenter of Shanghai's petrochemical industry; thus this area where I live is also called "Petrochemical.” The block where my house is located is called "Qijiadun.”Qijiadun is where my story begins. The Field StoreThere is a small store in the field of Qijiadun. The store is always full of products. You can find everything you want in it, including happiness.Around the time when I was in elementary school, a huge department store was built in the field. I didn’t know if it was the store that got bigger or if it was me that got smaller.The "field store" where you are right now is based on the environment that has surrounded me since childhood and is combined with my perception of the world that I acquired as I was growing up. A store might not just be a place for selling products. It could also be a hiding place for love and certain rituals and desires, all of which can found here. TomatoWhen I was in primary school, my grandma always picked me up at the front gate at the end of the day. When we arrived home, she would take out a bowl of sliced tomatoes with sugar from the refrigerator. The top of the bowl was carefully covered with plastic wrap. Whenever I saw this bowl of tomatoes, I knew that summer had arrived. Therefore, “Tomato” represents this exhibition as a whole—it is a symbol of time. Individuals and GroupsImagine two scenarios. In one there is only one person standing on an empty square, while in another there is a large group of …. The different feelings aroused by these two scenarios are very interesting. Groups are composed of individuals, while groups also differ from each other because of individuals.The exhibition starts with me as a person and unfolds to become a bigger conceptualization of life encompassing family, love, desire, the city, dreams, and a “character.” That character may represent a specific individual or a group of people, or it could be a group that has the appearance of an individual. Each part of the exhibition is relatively independent, but at the same time there are some hidden connections that unite them. Each part may represent the difference between the roles people play in life, or the aspects that life hides or brandishes. In this exhibition, I have constructed a unique social order in which the audience can experience a distinctive kind of energy. Your StoriesI created all the works in this exhibition on an iPad in 2020. Staying at home the first half of the year allowed me to spend a lot of time painting. During the same period, I also found my own language to express myself. This exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, installations, and videos. I hope you have an interesting experience. Maybe you can find the connection between these works, and that will be a story of your own.
ABOUT ARTISTSun Haoyuan was born in 1992 in the Jinshan District of Shanghai.He mainly paints using an iPad – both a mark of his era and a representation of how technology has opened up new possibilities for artists.Many of his works grow from his notions of “time, self, the environment, and dreams,” expressing his views on social order and the personality of the times. His practice incorporates painting, sculpture, video, etc.
