I just watched this video about the power of the internet in China and how their society is now very much reliant on online networks, namely Weibo. It is indeed an interesting phenomenon for those who work in the IT industry, to study about how technology transforms the lifestyle of people. However, for someone like me, who is still quite “old school” in thinking, and would rather stay away from tapping into the digital habits shared by the general public; the thought of having my life be completely infiltrated by such “networks”, or a “cloud”, is rather intimidating.
Looking into this interesting issue of how the digital ecosystem effects the world of contemporary art, the K11 Art Foundation (KAF) and MoMA PS1 co-presents .com/.cn, the first ever project jointly presented as part of an ongoing research partnership. Co- curated by Klaus Biesenbach and Peter Eleey of MoMA PS1 in New York, com/.cn, works by artists including Darren Bader, Cao Fei, DIS, Aleksandra Domanovic, Gregory Edwards, Lauren Owens, Li Ming, Liang Wei, Lin Ke, Liu Shiyuan, Miao Ying, Oliver Payne, Sondra Perry, Wang Xin, and Anicka Y are now exhibited at the K11 Art Foundation Pop-up Space, Hong Kong.
Even though the online world is often “assumed to be universal, unencumbered by territory, language, law, or national culture”, we know that places such as China has established their own form of control which has created a unique condition, fostering “different social behaviours, economies, and modes of thought.” Such conditions have, in turn, gathered different artistic responses which reflect upon the topics such as politics, economy, cultural aspirations, regional platforms, as well as the mode of research and communication.
This has, therefore, resulted in amazing pieces which takes reference from “historical Chinese and
Western vocabularies with contemporary pictorial schematic devices”. As Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1 and co said, “Technology has provided new tools for the production, distribution, and reception of art while also enabling rapid advancements in global trade and information exchange, showing that the world wide web is actually ‘webs’ as the .com and the .cn of the title suggests—just to name two of them. With this exhibition, we hope to create new dialogue around ways in which art is changing in the digital era, both in China and the West.”
21st March to 30th April 2017
G/F, Cosco Tower, 33 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
#KAFxMoMAPS1
