Hyundai Blue Prize Awards Emerging Chinese Curators

‘Reading these proposals,’ said Cornelia Schneider, Head of Global Experiential Marketing at Hyundai Motor Company, ‘I was impressed by the creativity and sustainability in their perspectives of the future, and their thought-provoking and creative ideas regarding the relationship and interactions between humans, technology, and urban culture.’

Curated by Wang You, Dream Monolith and Revelation combines ancient Chinese texts with space technology to explore interactions between humans and the cosmos. Going beyond the confines of the city, Wang You considers organic interactions between humanity, nature, and the universe, imagining a journey of peaceful co-existence.

Dubbed the ‘first exhibition of Space Art in China’, Wang You’s proposal builds on her experience co-operating with aerospace institutions and companies to explore space-travel technology.

Through works by 12 artists, including installation, sculpture, readymade, video, and photography, Wang You will consider the advancement of space-travel technology, which has enabled a leap in knowledge of outer space, and in turn, a clearer understanding of earth.

Interwoven in this proposal is a reinterpretation of ancient Chinese texts, including a poem from the Jing dynasty that imagines a celestial journey. The curator appeals to audiences to think with—not about—the universe to renew understandings of life on earth.

In Chen Baoyang and Shao Xiaoming’s proposal for Coordinates Skybox, the city is defined as an interface between human beings and the world.

The title follows the exhibit’s inner logic, which is to discuss urbanism through the language of gaming. The coordinates refer to groups of numbers representing three-dimensional space, whereas Skybox refers to the visual boundary or backdrop in virtual games.

The exhibition will give audiences the opportunity to play games, with 19 artworks drawing parallels between our manipulation of the virtual world and urban space.

Inspired by the history of urban planning in Beijing, Chen and Shao are interested in the prescribed rules of urban space and their impacts on daily life. An app will be launched concurrently with the show, giving online audiences 24-hour access to the exhibition and the ability to modify its content.—[O]

Translated by Joanne He Yongxuan and Penny Liu.

Main image: Concept image for 'Resonant Cities'. Courtesy Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing.