Cheng Ran

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BIOGRAPHY | SELECTED WORKS | RECENT EXHIBITIONS | SELECTED PRESS | INTERVIEW
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BIOGRAPHY

Literature, European Art House Cinema and Western Pop Culture are Cheng Ran’s (b. 1981 Inner Mongolia, China) main sources of inspiration. These influences refer to the many bootlegs and illegal versions of films, books and other manifestations of western pop culture in China, where they are often ‘enriched’ with new covers, added text and sometimes even entire chapters. This post-modern way of dealing with meaning, copyright and authenticity is the starting point for Cheng Ran’s practice, which consists mainly of video and film, as well as photography and installation. He dives into the gaps within existing plots, adding speculative stories, connections and perspectives to soundtracks of classical music.

Cheng Ran has exhibited at numerous museums and biennales, including Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions, Yebisu Garden Place, Tokyo, Japan, 2016; “Unlimited”, Art Basel, Messe Basel, Messeplatz, Basel, Switzerland, 2016; “Utopia and Beyond”, Castello di Rivara – Centro d’arte contemporane, Turin, Italy, 2016; “SALTWATER: a Theory of Thought Forms”, the 14th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, 2015; Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 2015; “Inside China”, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2014; “Decorum-Carpets & Tapestries by Artists”, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China, 2014; “We Have Never Participated”, the 8th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale, Shenzhen.

Recent solo exhibitions include: “Diary of a Madman”, New Museum, New York, USA, 2016; “In Course of the Miraculous”, K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong, China, 2016; “Orange Blue”, Qiao Space, Shanghai, China, 2016; “The Music is On, The Band is Gone”, K11 chi art museum, Shanghai, China, 2015; “Cheng Ran: A Telephone Booth Romance”, Leo Xu Projects, Shanghai, China, 2014; “Immersion and Distance”, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China, 2009, among others.

Cheng was nominated for the “Absolut Art Award” in 2013 and the first edition of OCAT – Pierre Huber Art Prize, and won the “Best Video Artist 2011” award from art magazine Randian. He was recently commissioned by Audemars Piguet for a collaborative project titled “To Break the Rules, You Must First Master Them” at Yuz Museum, Shanghai in 2016, which will tour to all Art Basel fairs in 2017.

Download the complete artist biography.

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SELECTED WORKS

CHENG RAN, "Always I Trust", 2014, Twenty five channel video installation with sound and light boxes, 6 min 26 sec

CHENG RAN, "Simply Wild", 2014, Super 8 film transferred to digital video with sound, 6 min 53 sec

CHENG RAN, "Two Pigeons", Before Falling Asleep Part II, 2013, Super 16 mm film transferred to single channel HD video with sound , 4 min 11 sec, Installation view at Rijksakademie / De Ateliers

CHENG RAN, "Lostalghia", 2012, Single channel video with sound, 11 min 45 sec

CHENG RAN, "1971-2000", 2012, Single channel video with sound, 7 min 47 sec

CHENG RAN, "Angels For The Millennium #6", 2012, Single channel video with sound, 7 min 45 sec

CHENG RAN, "The Eclipse", 2011, Single channel video with sound, 3 min

CHENG RAN, "Chewing Gum Papers", 2011, Single channel video with sound, 3 min 10 sec

CHENG RAN, "Prospect Cottage", 2012, Single channel video with sound 8 min, 31 sec

CHENG RAN, "Rock Dove", 2009, Single channel video with sound, 5 min

CHENG RAN, "Anonymity, or Imitation and Imagining of Man Ray’s Tears", 2010, Single channel video with sound, 11 min 33 sec

CHENG RAN, "Dark Red (The Deepest Red)", 2012, Multi-channel video installation, Dimension variable

CHENG RAN, "Born in the Wild", 2013, Mixed media installation, Dimension variable

CHENG RAN, "Temporary (Taxi) Day (Driver)", 2014, Mixed media, Dimension variable

CHENG RAN, "Temporary (Taxi) Day (Driver)", 2014, Mixed media, Dimension variable

CHENG RAN, "The Last Generation", 2013, Pure New Zealand wool, manually embroidered carpet, 270 x 192 cm

CHENG RAN, "Ghost of Tundra", 2010, C-print, 20 7/8 x 31 1/2 inches, 53 x 80 cm

CHENG RAN, "Midnight Art Museum", 2009, Mixed media installation, 340 x 180 x 280 cm

CHENG RAN, "Still of an Unknown Film", 2008, C-print, 105 x 150 cm

 

For more works and projects by the artist, download the portfolio in pdf.

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RECENT EXHIBITIONS

“All Happens After Sunset”, MoCA Pavilion, Shanghai, China, 2017
“Neoclassical” (solo), Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, China, 2016
“Diary of a Madman” (solo), New Museum, New York, USA, 2016
“The Image Expression In The Art Practice Of New Generation”, Gallery 4 of Xi’an Art Museum, Xi An, China, 2016
“Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions”, Yebisu Garden Place, Tokyo, Japan, 2016
“A Beautiful Disorder”, The Cass Sculpture Foundation, Chichester, UK, 2016
“Residency and Solo Exhibition”, established by New Museum & K11 Art Foundation, New Museum, New York, USA, 2016
“In Course of the Miraculous” (solo), K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong, China, 2016
“Orange Blue” (solo), Qiao Space, Shanghai, China, 2016
“Time Test: International Video Art Research Exhibition”, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2016
“Unlimited”, Art Basel, Messe Basel, Messeplatz, Basel, Switzerland, 2016
“Utopia and Beyond”, Castello di Rivara – Centro d’arte contemporane, Turin, Italy, 2016
“A Film in Progress” (solo), Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland, 2015
“In Course of the Miraculous” (solo), Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, China, 2015
“The Music is On, The Band is Gone” (solo), chi K11 Art Museum, Shanghai, China, 2015
“SALTWATER: a Theory of Thought Forms”, 14th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey, 2015
“Essential Matters – Moving Images from China”, Borusan Contemporary Perili Kosk, Istanbul, Turkey, 2015
“When I Give, I Give Myself”, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2015
“Utopian Days – Fairy Tales”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan, 2015
“Fairy Tales”, Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan, 2015

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SELECTED PRESS

ArtChina, “Critics Picks – Diary of a Madman:Cheng Ran’s photographic impression of New York City”, by Huang Zhuofan, March, 2017 [download pdf]
Artsy, “The Top Emerging Artists of 2016″, December, 2016  [download pdf]
Artforum China, “Critics Picks – Cheng Ran: Diary of a Madman”, by Jiang Meng, November, 2016. [download pdf]
Modern Weekly, “Diary of a Madman: A Diary to New York from Cheng Ran”, by Alvin Lin, 2016. [download pdf]
ArtsHebdoMedias, “Danse avec les Smartphones à l’Asia Now”, by Marie-Laure Desjardins, October, 2016. [download pdf]
Numéro, “Asia Now la foire d’art asiatique en cinq œuvres essentielles”, by Thibaut Wychowanok, October, 2016. [download pdf]
Artsy, “20 Chinese Emerging Artists You Should Know”, by Frances Arnold, July, 2016  [download pdf]
Leap, “Cheng Ran: Orange& Blue”, May/June, 2016 [download pdf]
Leap, “Carina Lau”,by Yue Hongfei, June, 2016 [download pdf]
Flash Art, “__A__Hexagon”, by Cheng Ran, Issue 49, 2016 [download pdf]
Frieze, “Light Source” (cover story), by En Liang Khong, Issue 177, March, 2016 [download pdf]
Elephant, “5 Questions with Cheng Ran”, by En Emily Steer, March, 2016 [download pdf]
The Bund, “Mild Art Belonged To Petty Bourgeoisie And Middle Class”, by Han Jian, Issue 638, April, 2015 [download pdf]
Kaleidoscope, “Exploring The Endless Possibilities of Narrative, Language and Story – Telling”, by Mariagrazia Costantino, January, 2015 [download pdf]
Art China, “Cheng Ran At Leo Xu Projects”, by Yu Kai Maya, Issue 109, December, 2014 [download pdf]
The Bund, “Cheng Ran New Born At Thirties”, by Shen Yin, Issue 618, September, 2014 [download pdf]
Art Review Asia, “8th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale We Have Never Participated”, by Yung Ma, Autumn & Winter, 2014 [download pdf]
Hangzhou Magazine, “Anoymous Mail: He impressed Carina Lau with a deconstructed English spam”, by Wu Yiyun, August, 2014 [download pdf]
Peerage, “The Art of Possibilities”, edited by Ayaka, Issue 303, September, 2014 [download pdf]
Rijksakademie inside out, “Meeting Cheng Ran in his studio”, by Frederieke Beunk, March, 2014 [download pdf]
Leap, “Cheng Ran: The Last Generation”, by Yang Di, August, 2013 [download pdf]
Art World, “Cheng Ran”, by Lin Jia, September, 2012 [download pdf]
Leap, “What Why How”, by Tang Lingjie, June, 2012 [download pdf]
THE WEEK, “Cheng Ran: Another Possibility”, by Amos, June, 2012 [download pdf]
Men’s Uno, “Cheng Ran (Artist Feature) “, by Mu, May, 2012 [download pdf]
Leap, “Cheng Ran: Circadian Rhythm – Videos You Didn’t Finish Watching”, by Cheng Ran, June, 2011 [download pdf]

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INTERVIEW


Interviewed by LeCODE Project。lecode.co, September 2013.

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Published on January 24, 2012 6:09 pm.

past | TAUS MAKHACHEVA: SECOND WORLD, THIRD ATTEMPT

Taus Makhacheva:
Second World, Third Attempt

November 10th through December 23rd, 2017
Opening reception: Friday, November 10th, 6-8pm

Published on November 8, 2017 1:56 am.

past | SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIRS

SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIRS

September 30th through October 31st, 2017
Closed on National holidays, October 1st through 8th.

Participants: Bu Bing, Chen Wei, Cheng Ran, Michael Lin, Liu Chuang, Liu Shiyuan, Liu Yichun, Wang Yan, Zhang Ke and more.
 

Published on September 30, 2017 5:55 pm.

offsite | A NEW BALLARDIAN VISION

CINDY SHERMAN, "Untitled", 1987

A NEW BALLARDIAN VISION
Organized by Leo Xu
June 29th through August 4th, 2017
Metro Pictures, New York, USA 
 
As a part of CONDO Complex New York, a gallery swap between New York galleries and national and international partners, Metro Pictures hosts Leo Xu’s two-part exhibition A New Ballardian Vision. The show brings together a selection of works that reflect recent social, technological and environmental developments through the lens of author J.G. Ballard’s (1930–2009) writings. Xu conceived the exhibition as two distinct chapters; the first features Metro Pictures artists Nina Beier, Camille Henrot, Martin Kippenberger, Oliver Laric, Robert Longo, Trevor Paglen, Jim Shaw and Cindy Sherman. The second chapter focuses on a younger generation of Chinese artists represented by Leo Xu Projects, including aaajiao, Chen Wei, Cheng Ran, Cui Jie, Li Qing, Liu Shiyuan and Pixy Liao.
Details »

Published on June 23, 2017 5:44 pm.

past | AAAJIAO: USER, LOVE, HIGH-FREQUENCY TRADING

aaajiao, Candy wrappers (twitter), 2017

AAAJIAO: USER, LOVE, HIGH-FREQUENCY TRADING

May 27th through July 22nd, 2017
Opening reception: Friday, May 26th, 6-8pm

“User, Love, High-frequency Trading” marks the second solo exhibition with the gallery by Shanghai and Berlin-based young new media artist aaajiao. Aaajiao, the artistic persona of Xu Wenkai, was first created as his internet handle. As a user of many websites, social media and applications, aaajiao has been exploring the notions about such role and new identities and personalities a user may assume through his or her operation of one specific medium. This two-year long research has crystalized into the exhibition “User, Love, High-frequency Trading”. It goes through multiple aspects—for instance, user’s alter ego, social media communication, and new economies driven by algorithms and networking of users—and arrives at a particular moment in current social and technological development, which has both resonated and contrasted with many of Sci-fi cinema and literature’s Ballardian or cyberpunk fantasies of an early 21st century.

Details »

Published on June 11, 2017 7:54 pm.

fair | LISTE – ART FAIR BASEL 2017

Booth: 1-7-G3
June 12th through 18th, 2017

The gallery’s debut in LISTE – Art Fair Basel 2017 will feature a solo presentation by Copenhagen-based young Chinese female artist Liu Shiyuan.

Born in 1985 in Beijing, Liu Shiyuan lives and works in Copenhagen after having studied in New York and Beijing. Traveling and living between cities and across multiple cultures, Liu has developed an artistic sensibility to the new forms of language and expressions on cybersphere and its ensuing patterns of everyday communication across the globe. The works on view at the booth also underlines the nuances and influences of the new internet rhetoric between different regions and media.

Details »

Published on June 11, 2017 1:53 am.

past | PLEASE FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT AS WE ARE EXPERIENCING SOME TURBULENCE

Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence

March 18th through April 30th, 2017
Opening reception: Friday, March 17th, 6-8pm

David Kordansky Gallery and Leo Xu Projects are pleased to present “Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence”, a collaborative group exhibition held at Leo Xu Projects, Lane 49, Building 3, Fuxing Xi Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai. The show will be on view from March 18 until April 30, 2017. An opening reception will take place on Friday, March 17 from 6:00pm until 8:00pm.

Featuring artists from both of the galleries’ programs, Please fasten your seat belt as we are experiencing some turbulence will examine how a wide and heterogeneous array of aesthetic positions can reflect, refract, and bear witness to an uncertain state of global affairs. The exhibition will include work by Kathryn Andrews, Andrea Büttner, Chen Wei, Heman Chong, Sam Gilliam, Zach Harris, Evan Holloway, Rashid Johnson, Gabriel Lester, Li Qing, Liu Shiyuan, Pixy Liao, Jonas Lund, Tala Madani, Chris Martin, Torbjørn Rødland, Sissel Tolaas, Tom of Finland, Wei Jia, Ming Wong, and Betty Woodman.

Details »

Published on April 20, 2017 12:16 pm.

news | CHEN WEI: THE CLUB AT HORSHAM REGIONAL ART GALLERY

Chen Wei, "Disco #1004", 2015

CHEN WEI: The Club
Horsham Regional Art Gallery, Horsham, Australia
24 June 2017 - 13 August 2017

Chen Wei’s solo exhibition “The Club” is to open on June 24, 2017 and runs until August 13, 2017 at Horsham Regional Art Gallery.

Being one of China’s leading artists exhibiting in London, New York, Melbourne and numerous cities across Europe, Chen Wei is presenting photographs and installations that fabricate a visual archive of Chinese club culture in Horsham, Australia. Curated by Elias Redstone, The Club explores an undocumented subculture, reflecting on wider social changes that have taken place in modern China.

Details »

Published on April 19, 2017 6:30 pm.

news | LIU SHIYUAN IN .COM/.CN AT K11

Group Exhibition: .com/.cn
K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong 
21 March through 30 April 2017

Liu Shiyuan is selected to be included in the group exhibition .com/.cn, co-presented by the K11 Art Foundation and MoMA PS1. Co-curated by Klaus Biesenbach and Peter Eleey of MoMA PS1 in New York, this project is part of an ongoing research partnership of two institutions.

Details »

Published on April 19, 2017 5:23 pm.

fair | FRIEZE NEW YORK 2017

Li Qing, "Window · The Sea in the Museum", 2016-2017

Frieze New York
Booth B23
Randall’s Island, Manhattan
May 5th through 7th, 2017
Preview: Thursday, May 4th, 2017

Located at booth B23, the gallery will be exhibiting a solo presentation of Shanghai-based artist Li Qing, who was recently shortlisted for the sixth edition of Prix Jean-Francois Prat (2017), a prestigious international contemporary art prize mainly focuses on painting.
Details »

Published on April 19, 2017 1:42 pm.

news | AAAJIAO IN BODY MEDIA II AT PSA

Group Exhibition: Body·Media II
Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
April 29 through July 30, 2017

 

Artist aaajiao is selected along with other 23 artists/art groups from 12 countries to be included in the group exhibition “Body·Media II” at Power Station of Art, Shanghai,  co-curated by Gong Yan (China) and Richard Castelli (France). The exhibition continues the theme of 2007’s exhibition Body Media, re-discusses the close ties between new media and body within the new era context totally revolutionized by advancing technologies. It contains installation, performance, photography, video, and other hard-to-be-defined art forms, introduces cross-disciplinary cooperative patterns and exceeds boundaries of interactive art exhibitions.

Details »

Published on April 18, 2017 6:22 pm.

news | PIXY LIAO IN NSFW: FEMALE GAZE AT MUSEUM OF SEX

 

NSFW: Female Gaze
June 21, 2017
Museum of Sex, New York, USA

Pixy Liao is participating in the group exhibition “NSFW: Female Gaze” at Museum of Sex on June 21.

NSFW: Female Gaze, co-curated by VICE Media’s Creators, showcases over 25 emerging female artists from various disciplines dedicated to powerful feminine narratives. From Instagram and GIF platforms to textile and photography, these artists bring a fresh, eclectic, and unconventional approach to sexuality.

Details »

Published on April 18, 2017 2:49 pm.

news | LIU CHUANG IN CHINESE SUMMER AT ASTRUP FEARNLEY MUSEET

Chinese Summer 
02 June 2017 – 10 September 2017
Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway
 

Liu Chuang is selected to be included in the group exhibition “Chinese Summer” in Astrup Fearnley Museet, curated by Gunnar B. Kvaran and Therese Möllenhoff.  The name Chinese Summeris a metaphor for the nation and art scene that have seen explosive growth over the last two decades.

Acknowledging the importance of cultural and artistic production in China that has taken its position on the global stage, Astrup Fearnley Museet is presenting 2 generations of artists in the large group exhibition of Chinese contemporary art.

Details »

Published on April 18, 2017 2:38 pm.

news | AAAJIAO, CHENG RAN, LI QING IN MOCA PAVILLION


Group exhibition: All happens after sunset…
MOCA Pavilion, Shanghai, China
April 22nd through May 25th, 2017

Artists aaajiao, Cheng Ran and Li Qing participate the group exhibition “All happens after sunset” at MOCA Pavilion, Shanghai, curated by Xⁿ Office, a contemporary art curating group launched by researcher of art history Penny Xu and artist Ni Youyu. The exhibition is also part of the first phase of MOCA’s 2017 “+Follow+” young artist group exhibition project, to follow young Chinese artists in their development, observing them as they mold through their early stages and blossom into maturity.

Details »

Published on April 18, 2017 11:16 am.

fair | ART BASEL HONG KONG 2017

 
Art Basel Hong Kong
Stand C20
Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center
March 23rd through 25th, 2017
Preview Wednesday, March 22nd
 


Published on April 18, 2017 9:28 am.

news | AAAJIAO IN HEART OF A TIN MAN

aaajiao, “Email Trek”, 2016  
Group Exhibition: Heart of the Tin Man
June 20th through October 8th
M Woods Art Museum, D-06, 798 Art Zone
Beijing, China

Artist aaajiao is selected along with other 11 artists to be included in the group exhibition “Heart of the Tin Man” in M Woods Museum, Beijing, dedicated to the digital age. Heart of the Tin Man brings together works consciously revealing, investigating or subverting current Internet or technological practices. Drawn predominantly from the M WOODS Collection and the post-internet focus of co-founder Michael Xufu Huang, the exhibition includes virtual reality, digital mechanics, and interactive works to stimulate our senses of sight, smell, touch, and sound, and to register emotion within a contemporary world increasingly governed by algorithms, measurements, and marketing.

Details »

Published on April 17, 2017 4:56 pm.

news | AAAJIAO IN UNREAL. THE ALGORITHMIC PRESENT AT HEK

aaajiao,"Limited Landscape, Unlimited Floating", 2017

Group Exhibition: unREAL. The Algorithmic Present
Haus der elektronischen Künste, Basel, Switzerland
08 June through 20 August 2017 
 
 
Aaajiao is selected to be included in the group exhibition unREAL. The Algorithmic Present in House of Electronic Arts Basel. 
 
unREAL examines the complexity of our digital age, it is an exhibition that attempts to confront the digital present through the very means of technological intervention both as critical examination as well as alternative prospects. The twenty-four works in the exhibition by international artists underscore the often-hidden materiality of bits and bytes, bringing to the fore the algorithmic processes that constitute our digital present.

Details »

Published on April 17, 2017 2:59 pm.

news | CITY OF STARS

 

Leo Xu Projects and Art Project CZ co-presents
Group Exhibition: City of Stars
April 19th through June 19th, 2017
MINGO
No. 1690 Huaihai Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai

 

The collaborative group exhibition “City of Stars” between Leo Xu Projects and Art Project CZ runs from April 19th to June 19th, 2017. The exhibition aims to capture the nightlife and living experience in the former French concession area in Shanghai, and to project a broader encapsulation of the Chinese youth’s status quo. Artists on view include aaajiao, Chen Wei, Cheng Ran, Guo Hongwei, Li Qing and Liu Shiyuan.

 

Published on April 17, 2017 12:15 pm.

news | AAAJIAO AND LIU CHUANG IN SHANGHAI PROJECT CHAPTER 2

Shanghai Project Chapter 2
Envision 2116
Exhibition: “Seeds of Time”
April 22 – July 30, 2017
Venues: Shanghai Himalayas Museum, Envision Pavilion, Zendai Zhujiajiao Art Museum

 

Artists aaajiao and Liu Chuang are invited by Shanghai Project to participate in the exhibition’s second chapter as researchers. Curated by Yongwoo Lee and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Shanghai Project Chapter 2 exhibition ”Seeds of Time” will be inaugurated on April 22, 2017. Taking its title from the documentary of the same name, which shares the project’s call for action regarding the climate situation, the exhibition seeks to explore sustainability so as to better understand possible solutions for urgent environmental and social problems.

Details »

Published on April 15, 2017 12:22 pm.

news | PIXY LIAO: LADY AND GENTLEMAN AT GALLERI VASLI SOUZA

PIXY LIAO, "Family sushi", 2011

Lady and Gentleman
24 March – 22 April 2017
Galleri Vasli Souza, Malmö, Sweden
 

Pixy Liao’s solo show “Lady and Gentleman” is running at Galleri Vasli Souza, Malmö, Sweden from 24th of March through 22nd of April 2017.

Having studied photography at University of Memphis and lived in the States for over a decade, Liao is highly influenced by the style of New American Color Photography in her practices.

Lady and Gentleman showcases the alternative possibilities of heterosexual relationships and inscribe how a man and a woman can exchange their roles and question the whole concept of “normal relationships”.

Details »

Published on March 24, 2017 5:38 pm.

news | CUI JIE IN PAST SKIN AT MoMA PS1

CUI JIE, S House #5, 2016

Past Skin
April 6 – September 10, 2017
MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Avenue, Queens
Long Island City, NY 11101

Cui Jie will participate in the group exhibition “Past Skin” at MoMA PS1, New York, running from April 6 to September 10, 2017. In today’s technological environment, we can style, extend, and broadcast ourselves at will, projecting into digital realms that in turn shape us. The six artists in ”Past Skin” take up science historian and cyber-feminist Donna Haraway’s provocation, “Why should our body end at the skin?,” testing the growing porosity between our bodies and habitats in a contemporary world where virtuality is ubiquitous and surreality is increasingly normalized. As much as we exert influence on our bodies and surroundings, the technologies that enable this influence also influence us. Details »

Published on March 3, 2017 5:29 pm.