Wang Wei
11 Aug - 11 Sep 2011
WANG WEI
Propaganda Pavilion
11 August – 11 September, 2011
Boers Li Gallery is pleased to announce ‘Propaganda Pavilion’, a solo exhibition by Wang Wei. This exhibition presents a new installation work that is open to the public in Gallery II.
Wang Wei is a multidisciplinary artist who is best known for his modified architectural structures that interrupt spaces and challenge perceptions. His work utilises an architectural language that references perception and the relationship between physical environments and psychological processes. The pieces are notable for their slight distortions of reality and uncanny juxtapositions of exterior structures within interior spaces.
‘Propaganda Pavilion’ is a full scale replica of an information stand found at the Beijing Zoo. This structure normally provides information about animals for visitors, but in its new incarnation, the piece highlights ideas about functionality, public information and naivety.
Upon entering the exhibition, a wall of mirrored glass reflects light, protrusions and recesses of the gallery in an attempt to efface its own occupation of the space. The thick form cuts into the approaching corridor, eclipsing the view, and enticing the viewer to discover more of this unexpected obstruction. At over ten meters long, the work awkwardly expands past the perimeter of the gallery. What is usually an expanse of pillars, beams and brickwork has been replicated with precision detail in reflective glass. The work is best viewed from multiple angles, requiring subtle navigations around the obstacle. This glimmering mass latent with its own historical contexts and easily recognisable as a tool of the Socialist era is profoundly altered through a change in materials. Confronted with a meticulous arrangement of mirrored paneling, viewers face countless reflections in this narrow space and witness the familiar as it becomes increasingly surreal and uncanny.
Wang Wei was born in Beijing, where he currently lives and works. Notable international exhibitions include Pavilion of China, 12th International Architecture Exhibition -La Biennale di Venazia, Venice, Italy (2010), The Real Thing: Contemporary Art From China, Tate Liverpool (2007) and Foreign Objects, Kunsthalle Wien Project Space, Vienna (2007).
Propaganda Pavilion
11 August – 11 September, 2011
Boers Li Gallery is pleased to announce ‘Propaganda Pavilion’, a solo exhibition by Wang Wei. This exhibition presents a new installation work that is open to the public in Gallery II.
Wang Wei is a multidisciplinary artist who is best known for his modified architectural structures that interrupt spaces and challenge perceptions. His work utilises an architectural language that references perception and the relationship between physical environments and psychological processes. The pieces are notable for their slight distortions of reality and uncanny juxtapositions of exterior structures within interior spaces.
‘Propaganda Pavilion’ is a full scale replica of an information stand found at the Beijing Zoo. This structure normally provides information about animals for visitors, but in its new incarnation, the piece highlights ideas about functionality, public information and naivety.
Upon entering the exhibition, a wall of mirrored glass reflects light, protrusions and recesses of the gallery in an attempt to efface its own occupation of the space. The thick form cuts into the approaching corridor, eclipsing the view, and enticing the viewer to discover more of this unexpected obstruction. At over ten meters long, the work awkwardly expands past the perimeter of the gallery. What is usually an expanse of pillars, beams and brickwork has been replicated with precision detail in reflective glass. The work is best viewed from multiple angles, requiring subtle navigations around the obstacle. This glimmering mass latent with its own historical contexts and easily recognisable as a tool of the Socialist era is profoundly altered through a change in materials. Confronted with a meticulous arrangement of mirrored paneling, viewers face countless reflections in this narrow space and witness the familiar as it becomes increasingly surreal and uncanny.
Wang Wei was born in Beijing, where he currently lives and works. Notable international exhibitions include Pavilion of China, 12th International Architecture Exhibition -La Biennale di Venazia, Venice, Italy (2010), The Real Thing: Contemporary Art From China, Tate Liverpool (2007) and Foreign Objects, Kunsthalle Wien Project Space, Vienna (2007).