Recently, Shanghai has experienced a cold wave, and the weather has dropped sharply. The streets outside the house are deserted and desolate, and the people who are hiding inside the house to keep out the cold are bored. Coincidentally, Suning Art Museum had launched a new special exhibition of contemporary art. After having nothing to do on the weekend, they went to see the exhibition with high expectations.

Regarding contemporary art, many people feel that art is becoming increasingly obscure and confusing. In fact, to a certain extent, contemporary art is the most easily understood. By subverting and reshaping traditional art forms, artists give art more multi-dimensional meanings, allowing audiences to perceive art from different angles and in different ways, feel the world around them, and have the right to freely understand art.

Entering the lobby on the first floor, the first thing that comes into view is an extremely cool luxury car. Have you all seen the newly released "007: No Time to Die" some time ago? This is James Bond's favorite car in the movie-the Aston Martin DB5. This classic sports car is elegant and retro in shape, and its chrome-plated body shines with a low-key metallic luster, perfectly interpreting the unique charm of a British gentleman and agent. Friends who like the 007 series movies must come and check in ~

Come to the B1 floor and officially enter the special exhibition "Either or: Those Hidden Times". The theme of the special exhibition originates from the book "Either This or" by the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard. Is this world either or or is it integrated? Since the epidemic, this issue has attracted more and more people's attention and thinking.

▲ Kiel Jobon's "City in the Sky"

Outside the exhibition hall is a huge projection, with several huge virtual characters dancing under the sky and on the rolling mountains. The dim lighting in the exhibition hall and the huge projection make people very immersive. This work was created by Swiss artist Kiel Chobon, who is keen on using technology to reproduce and even enhance contemporary dance, providing a new perspective for appreciating dance.

The 31-minute work, called "City in the Sky", was recorded live in a Geneva studio by three dancers using motion capture technology. Each performance was slightly different in action. This work demonstrates the infinite possibilities of contemporary art: breaking through the limitations of time and space and being appreciated by people all over the world.

▲ Herbert Eger's "Between Zoom and Zoom"

This special exhibition is divided into three sections-"Memory Reset","Diary at Home""and" Feast at Sunset ", which correspond to the three stages and three different stages of the epidemic, the epidemic isolation period and the post-epidemic period respectively. status.

▲ Shen Zhi's "Support that is difficult to disassemble"

Recalling that when the epidemic broke out two years ago, everyone was either scared, anxious, or uneasy. As regions are closed, cities are isolated from each other and countries are isolated from each other, as if the whole world has pressed the pause button. Most of the exhibits in the "Memory Reset" section reflect people's inner loneliness and anxiety when facing the epidemic, and even some absurd emotions.

▲ Danielle Kukler Flores,"A Home"

An electronic screen caught my attention. This is a work by Swiss artist Flores. It's like in the game "The Sims", a woman is wandering around in a house, accompanied by a cat. Watching this five-minute video, you seem to be able to feel the loneliness, anxiety, and idleness of the artist himself during the isolation period, echoing and resonating with his own experience during the epidemic.

As the epidemic raged, more and more people realized the need for self-isolation. What about artists? How do they create while they isolate themselves in their own small rooms? The works in the "Home Diary" section are creations made by artists during the quarantine period, showing more possibilities for art in the context of the epidemic.

▲ Pedro de Sousa,"Mistakes"

What impressed me most was the work "Mistake" by Portugal artist Pedro de Sousa. This is a performance art work that records the artist's 24 hours in the studio in the form of a single-frequency video. Standing in front of the big screen for a long time, I truly felt the passage of time minute by minute. In this short period of time, you seem to be changing places with the artist, pacing, meditating, sleeping... You personally experienced the day when the artist was isolated from the world and gained an immersive artistic experience.

▲ Hu Jieming's "Ge Wu"

▲ Essep Sibrough's "Red Zone 01-04"

In the post-epidemic era, how will the world we know change? With the continuous development of emerging technologies, what innovative possibilities are there for existing art forms? After the epidemic is over, will we look forward to a brighter future in joy, or will we fall into infinite anxiety about the unknown? The works in the section "A Feast at Sunset" focus on the future and discuss where art will go after the epidemic.

▲ Taylor Harlett's "Too Much"

Moving forward, a tight curtain filled people with curiosity. Open it up and see a different world. This was a small room several square meters long. It was dimly lit and filled with various debris and installations made of waste paper boxes. Images similar to artistic graffiti were projected on the wall facing it, as if it was a sloppy little room for a down-and-down artist living in it. It turns out that this entire room is a work,"The Too Much Sufficiency" by American artist Taylor Harlett.

▲ Taylor Harlett's "Too Much"

When the epidemic broke out, the artist was in Bangkok and he was trapped there and unable to return home. So he had the idea of turning his room into an immersive installation that blended painting, collage, sculpture and performance elements. During the quarantine period, he used the garbage he collected before to create, constantly adding new elements to the work. When you are in it, you can feel the artist's optimism and spirit of peace when he experiences the epidemic, as well as his instinct to draw artistic inspiration from life. At the same time, this work also inspires us to think: How should people and the epidemic coexist for a long time?

▲ Song Xioran's "Zero"

The most eye-catching thing in this section is undoubtedly the work "Zero" by new media artist Song Xiaran. He used computer technology to scan his iris and generated a tailor-made 2-minute audio in real time. The ever-changing vortex pattern projected on the wall also reminds people of a human pupil.

This is a work that combines vision and hearing, allowing people to feel art and the world from more dimensions. The ethereal background sound seems to have the magical effect of hypnosis, allowing people to gradually touch their subconscious and enter the infinite imagination space. Immersed in abstract vision and hearing, you can easily enter meditation and feel your heart.

▲ Dylan Marsh's "Hot Dream"

After a long period of meditation, I think the artist is trying to tell us that the future is like your imagination, with infinite possibilities; and the specific appearance of the future depends on how you perceive it.

▲ Roberto Castro's Isolation Diary

The biggest feature of this special exhibition is its vivid display of artistic diversity and multimedia art. Vision, hearing, device, AR, interaction... You can not only listen to the sound of the work through headphones, but also feel the extension of the work through AR devices. You can also simply lie on the sofa and immerse yourself in the work. The most pioneering art form of contemporary times and the influence of technological development on art can be seen from this exhibition.

▲ Zhu Yu's "Time and Space Traveler"

The epidemic seems to have put us into a dilemma where we have no choice. A sudden anxiety to face death hangs over us, and the individual existence of human beings itself is vividly revealed under this situation. As Nietzsche said in "The Birth of Tragedy","All things are fundamentally integrated, individualization is the starting cause of disaster, and art is the gratifying hope. From the elimination of the charm of individualization, we have a hunch that unity will be rebuilt." Art here has also become extremely close to us.

One last thing: 007 's car, the Aston Martin DB5, may be withdrawn on January 3. If you want to check in, you must hurry up.

Finally, let us end with a sentence from Kierkegaard.

When I grew up, when I opened my eyes and saw the real world, I started laughing and never stopped.

--Soren Kierkegaard