ZHONG WEI

The term ‘weight’ bears a specific meaning in the world of artificial intelligence (AI), referring to theimportance given to an input and its correlated influence on the output – in essence, the basis onwhich AI builds its identification and judgment. Under a social context, ‘weight’ can be used todescribe the extent of power or authority that certain individuals or parties may have over others andthe decision-making process at-large. These invisible systems, though similar in logic and operation,seemingly exist in parallel in two different worlds, but Zhong Wei asks: “What about the weightbetween man and technology?”

Automation and its increasingly prominent role in the development of social ecology has become plainto see as it inserts itself into almost every aspect of life. However, to what event does humanity stillretain significance in the advancement of technology? Surrounded by the anarchic pandemonium thatZhong Wei portrays, the answer might perhaps be “little to none.” From his large-scale artworks upto 3.5 meters in length to his array of smaller sized canvases, Zhong Wei’s maximalist, visceral, andunapologetic visual language speaks to unbated intensity at which technology operates. Layering amultitude of digital textures and motifs, his painted imagery resembles living and growing amorphouscreatures that walk among a disorienting and pixelated world. Dwarfed afront his artworks, theexperience is as if visiting a science museum of unnatural history, with exhibits evocative of both aweand anxiety.

Within the exhibition, a disorganized array of texts andimageries are mounted on a singular wall, reminiscent of aninvestigation board. Titled Cover with a Shell (2023), ZhongWei’s installation artwork comprises a scattereddocumentation of his thoughts on AI in art. Mixed within thematerials are images he created using AI amalgamations ofpast works as well as several short stories he wrote throughan AI program. UV-printed on irregular sheets of PVC,Zhong Wei’s observations are presented either in the formof a user review or as part of a conversation transcriptbetween the artist and an AI chat-bot. Within thisfragmented manifesto, he examines the utilitarianapplications of technology in art and questions the point inpractice at which AI would finally outweigh the artist.Reflecting on the capabilities of technology against thecriteria of art and being an artist, Zhong Wei speculates anear future – or perhaps present – in which any trace of thehuman artist will be wiped clear, for better or for worse.

However, for the time being, Zhong Wei is persistent on folding into his artworks the evidence ofhumanity, be it in his manual techniques, perceptive compositions, or use of cultural motifs. Hisintention is exemplified in his smaller canvas works, in which he incorporates anthropomorphizeddepictions of Chinese calligraphic characters. Respectively illustrating the letters of “lust” (色), “body”(身), “eat” (⻝), and “think”(想), the artworks allude to attributes that are inherent to human, namely todesire, feel, consume, and reflect. Simultaneously considering the pictorial genesis of Chinesehieroglyphics, Zhong Wei not only elucidates the contemporary reversion to a visually reliant mode ofcommunication but also crafts a reminder that all tools of expression– from early written language toAI content generators – have always been advanced by humans and for humans. Keeping in mind theultimate beneficiary of technological advancements, the artist asks again, “Who has the weightbetween man and machine?”