2023 Unbounded Group Exhibition

Exhibition Introduction

The “2023 Three Shadows Unbounded Group Exhibition” will showcase the works of 19 artists, selected from nearly 200 submissions, presenting a significant group exhibition project at the Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art Centre. Continuing the past selection criteria, the Unbounded Group Exhibition will comprehensively consider the aesthetics, conception and completeness of the works, while also adopting a more open approach this year to accommodate multiple visual media, emphasize bodily perception and interactive participation, and strive to stimulate dialogue and reflection.

The works of the 19 artists cover various media, including photography, video, installation, painting, and digital art, exploring and reflecting on important themes such as the identity, trauma, natural landscapes, social realities, and technological ecology. Many artists turn their gaze inward, exploring the connections and conflicts between the self, hometown, and cultural identity, and how these factors shape their lives. In the context of social mobility, the works of Li Jiadong and Xu Piao focus on themselves or hometowns, trying to capture personal experiences and cultural identity deep in their memories. Cai Keda similarly turns focus to himself and completes a spiritual writing on adversity through painting. Luo Wanqi, on the other hand, uses texts such as letters and diaries in combination with photographs to apply the act of photography as a means of reconciling family conflicts. Dong Yuluan and Li Boyan, starting from their personal growth and experiences, gaze at the scenery around them and engage in a critical reflection on reality. Zhu Yutian's works use subtle photographs to depict the "near-far" contradiction, presenting a visual image of the psychological and physical distance between individuals. As for Li Xinyu's works, starting from her own dreams, focus on concepts such as liminal space and reincarnation, using moving images, installations, and other media to create spatial narratives about fear and anxiety.

The natural environment and social landscape are also topics of concern for many artists. Yin Xiangqi's works use a series of images about the moon, reflecting the shift in human attitudes towards nature after mythology was conquered by technology. Shi Difu takes an anti-anthropocentrism perspective to look towards the wilderness and reflects on nature as an imaginary landscape. Shi Wenbin focuses on urban vegetation as a human-made nature and the spatial potential and power structure it reflects. Lu Weihao sees the city as a stage, presenting the lifestyle of individuals and groups in the city. Gong Yiming uses the concept of "psychogeography" to create new mysterious correspondences among locations. Typology is also a crucial form used by many artists. Wu Bi focuses on the portraits of Japanese politicians on street posters, contrasting the false smiles of politicians with the natural traces on the posters. He Jian captures the landscape changes on his way to and from work, presenting the traces of life in old houses and the new cities being built behind them. Liu Xuewen focuses on industrial relics in his hometown in Northeast China, observing the passage of time.

Computer-generated images, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction are technologies that provide artists with new means of creation and expression in the field of contemporary art, as well as new aesthetic experiences and spaces for reflection for audiences. Lau Yee Vanessa Fong uses digital technology to generate a "pure land" in a digital space, exploring the concept of mindfulness in a technological context. Liu Yutong, on the other hand, looks at people from the perspective of machines, focusing on the most common act of human-computer interaction, "touch", and the human emotions and mapping of reality that machines are given on top of this act. Huang Minghui allows artificial intelligence to appreciate photographic masterpieces, presenting its understanding of the image and the new visual experience brought by artificial intelligence.

Since 2018, the "Unbounded" exhibition project initiated by Three Shadows Xiamen has collaborated with over a hundred artists. We are committed to discovering and showcasing outstanding visual art creators through this project, and thereby expand and promote their artistic creation practices and communication.