—
Башня Татлина That Eats Rice and Salt
2022.2.26 - 2022. 3.31
Opening 2022.2.26 16:00
Venue: D06, Middle 2nd St., 798 Art Zone, No. 2 Jiuxianqiao Rd, BJ
—
Tong Gallery+Projects is honored to announce that the solo exhibition of artist LI YOUSONG Башня Татлина That Eats Rice and Salt will be open from February 26th, 2022 to March 31st, 2022, during which the artist's latest paintings and drawings will be presented. Look forward to seeing you there!
The series presents the motif of cultural collision that Li has always been concerned about. He redesigned the second phase of the western building for Qianlong as a missionary. And as a modern man, he rereads the beauty of the Enlightenment era. He has experienced the betrayal and retrieval of his cultural identity, as well as the historical and modern perspectives, twice. Perhaps, to build an overhead wonderful space underground, where little people shuttle through underground caves to build a steam driven mechanical kingdom. This fantasy of an exotic civilization can also be seen in his recent manuscript of the Country of Silk.Interestingly, there seems to be an implied story behind each piece of work, yet not allowing the viewers to substitute themselves into "me" completely. West or East? Ancient or Modern? The location on the cultural or temporal coordinates is ambiguous, yet reasonable and full of amusement.
However, Li Yousong is not satisfied with this. In his work Porthole, for the first time, he tries to depict the universe, breaking apart with the old northeast or the memory of his childhood. In today's context, without any doubt, the universe is advanced and technological, representing a possible future under the eternal discovery and the thirst for knowledge of humankind.
Li Yousong wrapped all these in a small porthole, from which we can only sneak a peek at a corner of the grand universe. A bird in traditional-Chinese-painting style stands in the porthole as if it is an invaded alien. For Li Yousong, compare to specific progress or future, what the universe means is immaterial and closer to the "infinity" in the cultural sense.This seems to echo with the theme of Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey: what the traditional meticulous painting of flowers and birds is to modern spaceships, the intertwining classical symphony is to the outer space.; the sky-crossing meteor outside the porthole is the universe that the star child, representing the ultimate human being, stares at in the movie.
Arthur Clarke, the author of the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, wrote in the preface of the first edition: " Roughly a hundred billion human beings have walked the planet Earth. Now this is an interesting number, for by a curious coincidence there are approximately a hundred billion stars in our local universe, the Milky Way. So for every man who has ever lived, in this Universe there shines a star."Over the past three years, acrobatics and industry have gradually faded, and the starry sky and black bird have slowly appeared. What remains unchanged is his stage perspective, which is presented as an uncertain dream.
Li Yousong now prefers to call himself a wizard, one who tells stories in his celestial tribe. Then, how shall we explain Li Yousong? To explain why he creates and how to create. Is there an innate contradiction between painting and storytelling? To explain the cultural collision in his creations. Is it a utopian fantasy, or is it a misreading and criticism on a standpoint? To explain the historical reconstruction in his practice. Will it provide some paradigm for the future of humankind? All these problems, like 2001: A Space Odyssey which is still known as a film that "no one understands", are always open and indeterminate.You are welcome to think of this exhibition as an invitation: to explain, to compound. But first of all, please be quiet and happy, and enjoy Mr. Li Yousong's brand new space opera of savages hitting rocks and baby birds twittering.
