"好！(Say-so)" is a solo exhibition by Yang Mai currently on view at Three Shadows Photography Art Centre 3.0space. Curated by Yanru Li, the exhibition features Mai's body of work that addresses issues of conformity and systemic inequities in our social structures by using playful and exaggerated elements to reconstruct clothing as a medium. Through his work, Mai reveals the imbalanced relationship between deindividuation and group polarization, which invites viewers to engage in discussions around the contradictory and ambiguous forms he presents.
"怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms)" is exhibited in the center and is composed of numerous school uniforms stuffed and connected at the cuffs, forming a chain-like configuration that ascends from the floor to the ceiling. The artist created this work in response to the experience of school life in China, highlighting the erasure of individual identity that often results from group living. "怀抱 (Hold Me in Your Arms)" is part of a larger dialogue with "Shhh!（嘘！）", which emphasizes the struggle of individuals to maintain their identity and the silencing of their voices within a group. The exhibition also features works that reject their intended functions, eschewing commercialized and conformist forms. As the show progresses, other works defy their original forms and expand into unconventional shapes. By unleashing the expressive potential of the "body", the works gain newfound independence and liberation.
Yang Mai's work critiques the authority of clothing by exposing its limitations on the wearer. Through satire and experimentation, Mai frees the body from its constraints, envisioning an unbodied society.