exhibition | Li Zhuoheng「Dramas' Cracks」@cassoulet foundation | Hong Kong

Li Zhuoheng | Drama’s Cracks

Curator | Keiko Wang

May 13 — June 27 2023

Cassoulet foundation | 7th Floor, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong

Cassoulet foundation is pleased to announce the upcoming solo exhibition "Li Zhuoheng: Drama’s Cracks" curated by Keiko Wang, from May 27 to June 27, 2023. As the artist’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, the show will present Li Zhuoheng's exploration of philosophy, physics, and religion through three chapters, featuring 30 canvas paintings, 1 video artwork, and 1 installation artwork. It aims to translate internal experiences into a visual language worldview.

 

I. Immersive Drama

 

Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa once said, "The fortune of mankind lies in being oneself, and only geniuses have the ability to become others. Because I am nothing, I can imagine I am everything. I began to understand myself. I do not exist. I am the crack between the person I want to be and the person others shape me to be." In this manner, Li Zhuoheng's solo exhibition presents a multidimensional theatrical performance of "self" and "others" through twenty recent works. Unmasked figures, head-wearing individuals, forgetful giants, and colossal statues collectively construct an inescapable and endless confusion. Amidst the fragmentation of the self, Li Zhuoheng continuously questions and reflects, seeking possibilities for self-reconstruction and the true identity of the "self."

 

In works such as "Forgetful Giant," "Forgetful Statue," and "He Laughs" (2023), the "giant" becomes a symbol representing the artist's projection of the self, while the "statue" embodies a divine presence from beyond. "He" resembles "God." Through exploration of philosophy and religion, the artist expresses internal experiences, aiming to construct an interdependent system between the "self," "God," and "existence." This system functions as an immersive theatre production that becomes so real in the artist's worldview that we forget our true identities. We forget that we are mere spectators, fully immersed in a drama that is at once beautiful and absurd. Amidst change, there is constancy; within the unusual, there is similarity. It is a firm resolve within contradictions and clarity within unknown variables. Leaning infinitely inward, the artist reveals the high-density and boundless presentation of secrets that touch our souls. This theatrical performance uses fiction to shape "self," "God," and "existence," using nonexistence to achieve existence.

 

Li Zhuoheng extends the exploration of his characters in his works, such as "Blind Path," "Blind Cane," "Red Obstruction," " Retaining Cap" and "Ripple" (2023). The figures are placed within misty and limited visual landscapes, their faces, names, identities, and actions gradually dissolved. The crosses they hold no longer bear the symbol of Christ but become tools for human exploration of the world, akin to a blind cane in the artist's perspective. Simultaneously, the beak symbol in the series "April" and "The Western" (2023) originates from the image of medieval European doctors wearing beak-shaped masks to treat patients, gradually acquiring a hint of the Grim Reaper's presence. Li Zhuoheng incorporates this symbol into depictions of all the conflicts and changes we have encountered in the past two years, emphasizing attitudes towards death, the awe of science, and reverence for God.

 

II. From Nothingness to Everything: 0 and 1

 

In binary code, 0 and 1 can express a quantified, uniform, and linear world system. However, it lacks a third state, a hybrid state that encompasses both 0 and 1. In his book "Philosophical Essays on Probability," Laplace said, "Leibniz, in his binary arithmetic, saw the image of creating everything."

 

We use the term "the spiritual" to refer to the desire to belong to something greater than ourselves, the quest to explore the source of life and the essence of death, and the recognition of ineffable and elusive powers in the universe. We explore the spiritual realm, questioning our existence and the possibilities of an afterlife. We contemplate the connection between ourselves and the surrounding world and examine those seemingly inexplicable experiences that artists wholeheartedly believe in spirituality. In harmony with this, the video artwork "The Birth of Jesus" (2021) and the painting and installation piece "Silence" (2023) attempt to use binary code and blend virtuality to completely transcend material reality. In this process, infinite creation can be achieved using 0 and 1, but it does not mean that our world is "real." Just as Leibniz used 0 and 1 to represent all numbers in his numeral system, "from nothingness to creating everything, 1 is enough."

 

III. Being, Desire, Awareness

 

Freud viewed instinctual impulses as the fundamental driving force of humans, but he believed that there is an eternal tension between civilization and instinct. Instinct demands immediate, tangible gratification and is inherently consumptive rather than productive. In earlier works such as "Judgment" (2018), "Self-Love" (2017), "Imprisonment" (2017), and "Frieza on the Altar" (2018), the artist directly confronts the insight into human instincts, erasing the distinction between the sublime and the vulgar. While questioning binary oppositions, Li Zhuoheng outlines a relatively intrinsic and personally distinctive ideology. These long-accumulated and consumed instincts, desires, and libido are reenacted, allocated, and harmonized within Li Zhuoheng's visual language.

 

All these explorations beyond art help him fulfil his creative journey within art itself. When his concepts return to the canvas image, the language of art acts as a bridge, breaking through forms and traditions, continuously deepening and piercing existing barriers and obstacles. Metaphors offer new dimensions in the pursuit of spiritual practice, freeing the artist's paintings from the burden of ideological constraints and restoring their mission to access authenticity.

 

Sharp slashes through metaphysics and faces the cracks of reality, Li Zhuoheng immerses himself in nonexistence, filling the void with being, desire, and awareness. His true interest lies in shedding the shell of grand narratives and truly detaching profound and complex themes, skillfully using light and delicate language to lift heavy weights, depicting a spiritual dream of "being here" and "not being here," engaging in self-dialogue and even the negation of the negation.

 

Text by Keiko Wang

 

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About the artist

 

Li Zhuoheng (b.1994) was born in Tianshui, Gansu Province, and now lives and works in Shanghai. His creation involves painting, music, installation, concept, virtual art and other media. His works, mostly through the study of philosophy, physics and religion, attempt to realize personal spiritual exploration, transforming internal experience into a visual language of worldview. Exhibition experience includes "Knock Knock Knock...", PREWORK x Veenue Gallery, (Shanghai, 2023) Shanghai Digital Art Expo, (Shanghai, 2022); "From Creating Everything to Butter Melting", Mo Space (Virtual Space, 2021); "Zhang Jiang Hui Zhi Art Festival", Hui Zhi International Center (Shanghai, 2020); Invitational Exhibition of Shanghai Contemporary Art Academic Salon, Tian Contemporary Art Museum (Shanghai, 2019), etc.

 

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About the curator

 

Keiko Wang (Hong Kong, China) is a contemporary art writer, curator living and working in Hong Kong and Shanghai. She studied at the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University, holds a bachelor’s degree in International Management and a Master's degree in Social Sciences, and studied Art Law and Business at Christie's and Sotheby's Institute of Art. Having worked for auction house, gallery, art foundation and Hong Kong's leading non-profit art organisation- Para Site, she has participated in curating contemporary art exhibitions, and she is interested in the value of art and its wider relationships with sociology. She is the author of the short story collection 「Dashed Flames」 and the art criticism collection 「Poking the Pink Bubbles」.

李琢恆 | 戲劇裂縫

策展人 | Keiko Wang

2023年5月27日 - 6月27日

Cassoulet foundation | 

香港黃竹坑道54號M Place 7樓

Cassoulet foundation榮幸地宣布將於2023年5月27日至6月27日，推出藝術家李琢恆的最新個展 “李琢恆：戲劇裂縫” ，由策展人王惠子（Keiko Wang）策劃。作為藝術家的首次香港個展，展覽將用三個章節、30件布面作品、1件數字影像作品與1件裝置作品，呈現李琢恆對哲學，物理學以及宗教的研究，將內部經驗轉化為視覺語言的世界觀。

一，沉浸式戲劇

葡萄牙詩人費爾南多·佩索阿曾説：“人類的幸運在於，每一個人都是他們自己，只有天才才能被賦予成為別人的能力。因為我是無，我才能夠想象我自己是一切。我開始明白我自己。我不存在。 我是我想成為的那個人和別人把我塑造成的那個人之間的裂縫。” 如此這般，藝術家李琢恆的此次個展呈現的二十件近作猶如構造了一場“自己”與“別人”的多角色戲劇——去臉譜的人、戴頭套的人、失憶的巨人與巨像——無形之中共塑了一種無法回️避、無法終結的困惑，但又在各種自我粉碎中不停追問與反思，試圖尋找種種自我重建的可能，尋求“自我”的真實身份。

在作品《失憶的巨人》、《失憶的巨像》、《祂·笑》（2023）中，“巨人”成為映射自我的符號，“巨像”猶如彼岸的、神性的我們，“祂”如同“神”；藝術家通過對哲學與宗教的探討，輸出內部經驗以謀求建構一個關於“自我”、“神”、“存在”之間相互依存的體系。這個體系就如同一場沉浸式戲劇，在藝術家的世界觀中，這出戏劇太過真實，以至於我們忘記了自己的真實身份，忘記了自己只是買票入場，沉浸式的參與了一場或美好，或荒誕的戲劇。變中有恆，異中有同，是自相矛盾中的堅定，是未知變數中的明確；無限的向內、向內、再向內地傾斜，得以將觸犯內心的秘密高密度無垠地呈現，這一場戲劇用虛構來塑造“自我”、“神”、“存在”，用不存在來完成存在。

李琢恆賦予作品中人物以探索的延伸，如《盲道》、《盲杖》、《紅色遮擋物》、《頭套》、《漣漪》（2023）等作品中，人物被置於迷霧和有限視界的圖景中，他們的面貌、名字、身份與動作被一一消解，手中的十字架不再具有基督符號的所指，而是人類使用宗教和科學探索世界的工具，在藝術家看來這樣的工具就如同盲杖一般；與此同時，作品系列《April》與《西部》（2023）的鳥嘴符號來源於中世紀歐洲黑死病時期鳥嘴醫生的形象，原本是為治療病人的醫療裝束，漸漸有了一絲死神的氣息。李琢恆將其此形象符號鑲嵌於描繪過去兩年我們所遭遇的一切衝突與變化，強調面對死亡、敬畏科學與敬畏神的態度。

二，虛無到萬有：0和1

二進制中的0和1可以表達一個量化的、勻速的、線性的世界體系，但是沒有第三種狀態，即：既0又1的混合態。拉普拉斯在《概率的哲學探討》一書中説：“萊布尼茨在他的二進制算術中，看出了創造萬物的影像”。 我們用精神的（the spiritual）這個詞來代指想要歸屬於大於自我的事物的渴望，探索生命的源泉和死亡本質的欲求，以及對宇宙中難以言表、不可捉摸的力量的認知，我們探索精神層面，對我們的存在和來世的可能性發出質疑；我們思考自身和周圍世界的關係，並去審視那些看似無法解釋的體驗。藝術家對靈性深信不疑。與之呼應的是，影像作品《耶穌的誕生》（2021）、繪畫與裝置作品《默默》（2023）中，藝術家試圖用二進制代碼，雜糅虛擬以徹底擺脱物質實在性，在這個過程中可以用0和1創造無限，但不代表我們這個世界就是“真實”的。正如萊布尼茨在記數法裏用0和1表示一切的數一樣：“從虛無到創造萬有，用1就夠了。”

三，所是、所欲、所知

弗洛伊德將本能衝動視為人的根本動力，但是他認為文明與本能之間存在着永恆的張力。本能要求以直接的、眼前的滿足為目標，它本身是消耗性而非生產性的。於較早期的作品如《審判》（2018）、《自愛》（2017）、《入獄》（2017）、以及《神壇上的Frieza》（2018）中，藝術家直面對人類本能的洞察，消弭崇高與低俗的區別，在質疑二元對立的同時，勾勒出一個相對內在的、具有個人特質的意識形態。這些在心中積存已久且被消耗的本能、慾念與力比多，在李琢恆的繪畫語言裏被重現、分配以及調和。

所有這些對於藝術之外的探索，幫助他完成了藝術之內的創作，當其觀念迴歸畫面，藝術的語言作為橋樑突破了形式和傳統，使之不斷深化，不停地刺破既有的藩籬與屏障；隱喻提供新的向度以謀求精神性實踐，藝術家的繪畫在卸除意識形態束縛帶來的沉重負擔，恢復進入本真性的使命。鋭斬形而上學與面對現實的裂縫，自酣於不存在之中，填充着向之所是、向之所欲、向之所知。李琢恆真正的興趣所在是祛除宏大敍事的外殼，並真正抽離繁複深沉的主題，以一種輕鬆細膩的語言來舉重若輕，勾現一個“我在”與“不在”，自我對話甚至自我否定之否定的靈性夢想。

text | Keiko Wang

關於藝術家

李琢恆 (b.1994) 出生於甘肅天水，現工作生活於上海。他的創作涉及繪畫、⾳樂、裝置、觀念、虛擬藝術等媒介。他的作品大多通過對哲學，物理學以及宗教的研究，試圖實現個人的靈性探索，將內部經驗轉化為視覺語言的世界觀。參展經歷包括“Knock  Knock  Knock...”，PREWORK x Veenue畫廊，（上海，2023）“上海數字藝術國際博覽會”，（上海，2022）；“從創造萬有到黃油融化”，膜Mó Space（虛擬空間，2021）；“張江匯智藝術節”，匯智國際中心 （上海，2020）；“上海當代藝術學術沙龍邀請展”，天當代美術館（上海， 2019）等。

關於策展人

Keiko Wang（中國香港）是一位當代藝術寫作者、策展人，生活和工作於香港和上海。她曾就讀於香港大學與香港浸會大學，持有國際管理學學士學位與社會科學碩士學位，並於佳士得美術學院和蘇富比美術學院進修藝術法律與商業。曾任職於國際拍賣行、畫廊、藝術基金會及香港非牟利藝術機構Para Site，曾參與策劃組織大型當代藝術展覽項目，並對藝術的價值及其更廣泛的社會學關系感興趣。著有小説集「虛線火焰」、藝術評論文集「戳一下粉紅泡泡」。