4C Exhibition 2023Q3

In today's post-globalization and turbulent geopolitical world, individuals, cultures, groups and nations are inevitably swept up by huge trends. In the turmoil of this era, we are experiencing huge shocks and facing the choice of change, division or integration. Against this background of turmoil and change, artists in nomadic cultures, with their unique perspectives and creativity, have profoundly explored the multiple dimensions of personal, racial, cultural and gender through group exhibition works. The works in 4C Exhibition 2023Q3 present reflections on history, society and self-understanding, triggering viewers’ profound thinking about the diversity and complexity of the world. The exhibition opens up a complex discussion about the contemporary cross-cultural and cross-era situation, exploring how we can find our own position in the great changes of the times, and how we can maintain our uniqueness in the trend of diversified integration.

Dong Yingxin's creations profoundly reflect the collective memory of nation states and gender groups, and integrate the precious preservation of personal narratives. Her works "Encounter", "Standardization of Average Human Being", "Circa. 1943" and "Ideal Woman of Whom" cover a wide range of themes, touching on political culture, hidden national history, personal memory, gender stereotypes and more. aspect. "Encounter" uses a parallel narrative technique to show the history of the country and the life experience of the artist's grandmother, whom the artist has never met. In this fragmented narrative, the artist narrates macro-historical events from a personal perspective, but also explains the relationship between country and history, culture and individuals from another perspective from the perspective of relatives he has never met. Fictional imagination and real history are intertwined here. In the process of secondary narration, the transformation of perspective and narrative object makes the text rich in connotation.

In "Ideal Woman of Whom", Dong Yingxin turns to focus on a series of standards faced by modern women. She compared image search results for "ideal woman" with discussions about the concept on Quora, an online question-and-answer site. Against background images cut into faces and different body parts, comments posted by real users on Quora emphasize the equality and diversity of women, and diverse discussions seem to collapse a single standard. However, we can’t help but ask, why do our ideas of “ideal” standards seem to converge across the picture results? Who holds these views? Who is maintaining this single standard? Is our discussion of female standards reaching a deadlock, or is it an unsolvable false proposition from the beginning? In any case, Dong Yingxin uses the medium of books to make the topics discussed historical and substantive, while also being embedded in time and within reach.

Zhang Liang's work "This Weekend" uses a life-like narrative to show hot pot, a symbol of traditional Chinese cuisine, as well as the traditions, lifestyles and attitudes contained in it. The artist skillfully reproduced the whole picture of traditional Chinese hot pot through ceramic materials, including mandarin duck pot, fat beef, tofu and small crispy meat, etc., constructing a lifelike hot pot feast. For Chinese immigrants who are far away from their homeland, hot pot is one of the most representative Chinese delicacies in the United States. It evokes nostalgic emotions no matter when and where. The work reproduces the hot pot scene, which not only evokes longing for Chinese tradition, but also contains a deeper meaning. In the eyes of the artist, hot pot is like a microcosm of society, with different ingredients boiling together in this big pot and blending with each other. The hot pot table symbolizes the atmosphere of unity, harmony and family reunion, and is a symbol of cultural integration. The artist hopes to promote diversity and inclusion through this work.

Yu Jiaming's cross-media artworks deeply explore the intersectional spiral of power discourse, social norms, and popular and sports culture in American society. The artist's visual language comes from his own experience practicing boxing and kendo, as well as his deep insights into the streets of Chicago as a Chicago resident. These experiences allowed boxing elements to be naturally integrated into the picture, using the unique way of pop art to bring a strong and shocking visual impact through written slogans and bold colors. As an Asian and non-binary person with female appearance, Yu Jiaming frequently encounters challenges and discrimination in the American professional environment. These difficulties and prejudices are reflected in his works, which present tense scenes from popular culture, especially in fighting competitions. The characters, body parts and other fighting objects in the works have become symbols for expressing emotions, thinking and understanding.

By examining this visual element of kinetic tension, the artist profoundly examines the dynamics of power and questions the distribution, practice, and execution of social roles and identities within social structures and interpersonal interactions. As Foucault pointed out, power is omnipresent, flows everywhere, and deeply penetrates into all kinds of interpersonal relationships. Power is not an independent choice or consequence of an individual subject, but an inherent feature of a vast, anonymous set of strategies.

Huang Sizhe's masterpiece "Drop Houses" deeply explores the design of physical buildings based on virtual reality. In this era of pervasive online live broadcasts, the home space designed by the artist reflects people's needs for live broadcasts anytime and anywhere, and explores the integration, interweaving, exposure and sovereignty of digital and physical spaces. The different characteristic spaces integrated with technological products in "Drop Houses" present unlimited possibilities and flexibility, and outline a blueprint for the virtual future for humans with creativity and self-definition capabilities. This project delves into new hybrid social spaces that challenge our perceptions of domestic etiquette, residential architecture, privacy and intimacy, personal identity and social norms. This in-depth thinking guides us to examine the complex interactive relationships between individuals and society, virtuality and reality in the digital age. With its avant-garde creativity and brave exploration of the future, "Drop Houses" provides us with a new perspective, allowing us to peek into the future connection between digital technology and living space, demonstrating the perfect integration of cutting-edge technology and human nature.

As a tattoo designer, Xin Lu incorporates distinctive and iconic tattoo patterns into her painting practice. Her works often incorporate totemic symbols and patterns, combined with bright pop-style colors, while also containing the charm and style of oriental aesthetics. This includes elements such as dragons, tigers, mythological and historical figures, Chinese symbols and Chinese characters, showing a deep respect for cultural heritage. These unique artistic expressions transport the viewer into a world of vibrant and diverse cultural imagery, inspiring contemplation of traditions, symbols and aesthetics. In the practice of tattooing in the United States, she must also bring a strong sense of nostalgia, planting unique cultural seeds in the pattern, and blooming in the skin.

In the trend of great changes of the times, the interaction between geography, culture, race, society, groups and individuals has become increasingly complex. The five Chinese diasporic artists in this exhibition show their diversity based on the cultural phenomena in contemporary society. The innovative style and rich thematic depth clearly reflect the living conditions of the Chinese diaspora community and in-depth insights into social phenomena. 4C Gallery is honored to carry and disseminate Chinese contemporary art and culture, provide emerging Chinese artists with a space to display and a soil for growth, and showcase their latest artistic contributions on the international stage.