Artist: Qin Yexuan
Mentors: Gao Bo, He Yunchang
Curator: Deng Ting
Exhibition Director: Jiawen Hu
Exhibition assistant：Song Dandan, Zhang Su
Duration: 2024.7.27—8.15 (Closed on Mondays)
Opening：2024.7.27
16:30-17:00 | Guided Tour
17:00-18:00 | Performance「Sketch」
Organizer: Three Shadows Photography Art Centre
Co-Organizer: Three Shadows Education Program
Art Paper Support: FANTAC
Location: 155A, Caochangdi, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Why do we alienate ourselves, and how do we draw closer?
Charles Taylor once mentioned in "The Malaise of Modernity": "People used to be embedded in a social context that they didn't question, from which it was almost unimaginable to deviate, a role and a place that was given to them and that they couldn't conceive of stepping outside of." This shift towards individualism has led to a self-centered tendency, confining us to a narrow world that only revolves around “me.”
The exhibition invites a dialogue about modern life, exploring the tension between self-exploration and connecting with the external world. People's skepticism toward the old order has fostered modern freedom. However, freedom is not rootless; while it deconstructs the old order, it also creates new barriers, like invisible walls, quietly building boundaries between the individual and the world. Fortunately, everyone holds the key to unlock these barriers. By paying attention to and participating in larger issues beyond ourselves, we can transcend the focus on "me" and rebuild a sense of community with others and society.
Artist Qin Yexuan precisely uses the "diary form" and the creative method of textual image displacement to interweave personal memory with public narrative. By focusing on various social issues such as the plight of women, the culture of entertainment, heroism, and the anxiety of success, she connects the threads of society, others, and the self, weaving a complex social tapestry. The barriers may be the ravines between these threads—individuals' desire and doubt for freedom, like the wind passing through them, bringing gusts of howling, much like a sigh after a long silence.
● Text/Deng Ting