「Inorganic Circus」Ma Xiantong Solo Exhibition:

Exhibition Site

Inorganic Circus

Text / Li Guiming

The mechanical lion that stands upright under the push of a hydraulic press, the tower crane hangs with slowly expanding huge metal wings and mechanical butterflies, biomimetic cat paws that interact with humans, and soft cat tails. There is no one leading the way here, and the work moves slowly and mechanically under the drive of the motor. This is an exhibition scene created by artist Ma Xiantong, which is full of mechanical energy, mysterious and absurd, and full of fun. This exhibition showcases a series of installation works created by artist Ma Xiantong in 2023, which also earned him the Annual Award at the 11th Tomorrow Sculpture Awards. This exhibition is Ma Xiantong's first solo exhibition and also the first exhibition of this series of works after winning awards.

Exhibition Site

Ma Xiantong's creation started from the dismantling factory of scrapped cars. These old scrapped cars or accident cars with severely deformed appearances are seen by others as metal waste waiting to be dismantled. What they see is the overall integrity inside, which is one of the most important creations of the industrial era, the "internal combustion engine". Unlike other artists who use waste and ready-made products to create, Ma Xiantong's works usually retain the current worn-out appearance of the materials, giving viewers a delicate mechanical beauty. At the same time, he also endowed metal materials with diverse forms of expression in his creations, such as traditional lion lion dance, butterfly and crane wings that contrast with metal, playful cat paws and tails, and tearful metal eyes with futuristic expressions.

Although there may seem to be significant differences in themes between works, the overall creative thinking and artistic aesthetics constitute a complete artistic expression. From borrowing traditional cultural elements, to paying tribute to modern industrial civilization, and extending to imagining the future, there is both mechanical and calm thinking, as well as personal emotional expression of living beings.

Recently, news reports have shown that ChatGPT has a body, and the topic of "what is life" will once again become a hot topic of discussion. The inspiration for the work "New World" in the exhibition comes from the HAL9000 robot in writer Clark and director Kubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey. And when the metal eyes open and meet the human eye, a tear will fall. This is a reflection on the shoulders of giants, and it also completes the final expression and question of the exhibition: "When humans come from ancient times and move towards the unknown future, this tear is the awakening of the life consciousness of silicon-based organisms, and it is also the last tear of carbon based humans.".

Exhibition Site

When the debate between carbon based life and silicon based life becomes a normal topic, looking back at the promotion and alienation of society in the industrial era, technological progress has always been the sword of Damocles in human society. Artists use personal and historical experiences to create new inorganic life forms in response to past and future perspectives. The inorganic circus is not only a cold mechanical dance, but also a personified expression of history and the future.

「Inorganic Circus」Xiantong Ma's solo Exhibition

2024.6.01-6.25

Curator：Guiming Li

Exhibition Site

On June 8, 2024, at 4:00 pm, the Joint Art Center presented the "Inorganic Circus" Ma Xiantong solo exhibition, which was curated by Li Guiming. Ma Xiantong won the Annual Award of the 11th Tomorrow Sculpture Award for his exhibition works. This exhibition is also his first personal exhibition, and the exhibition works are also his first public exhibition after winning the award.

Exhibition Site

Artist Ma Xiantong believes that sculpture is the art form that best embodies the spirit of labor. In the post industrial era, labor is not simply physical labor, but encompasses various forms of work. No matter how the content of labor changes, the workers involved are sharing the value of their work with others.

Exhibition Site

During the creative process, Ma Xiantong chose to devote most of his time and energy to frontline labor, so his works are full of traces of handicrafts. He transformed abandoned engines into completely different sculptures by dismantling and reassembling them, showcasing them to the world. This process not only expresses the transformation of human nature, but also highlights the spirit and will of machine aesthetics.

Opening Ceremony

From left: Mr. Wen Donghua, co-founder of the Common Art Center, Mr. Li Guiming, curator, Ms. Bao Yu, co-founder of the Common Art Center, Mr. Ma Xiantong, artist, Professor Sun Lu, Professor Chen Ke, Professor Yang Jing, Professor Mou Baiyan, exhibition consultant, Professor Li Mingwei, and Professor Wang Chuan from the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts

Curator Mr. Li Guiming delivered a speech on site

Thank you all for attending the opening ceremony of the "Inorganic Circus" exhibition during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday today. This exhibition is the first one by artist Ma Xiantong. Mr. Bao and I decided to do this solo exhibition shortly after seeing the artist's works. Today, we also saw a creative work by a young artist. These works not only have visual aesthetics, but also profound expression from the artist. What's more, the works also involve complex production techniques and interdisciplinary knowledge, which demonstrates the artist Ma Xiantong's comprehensive creativity and wholehearted investment in artistic creation.

As Mr. Wen said, this exhibition has created the first place in the Common Art Center, and there are both good aspects and some challenges here. Of course, today we saw a perfect exhibition venue, and we hope that Ma Xiantong can continue to move forward on this path. Thank you to the gallery for their strong support and investment in this exhibition, and thank you to Sun Lu and several other teachers for their training and support of Ma Xiantong. Thank you again for coming today.

Professor Sun Lu from the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts delivered a speech on site

I first met him at the Zeng Zhushao Award held by the department. In 2017, when he participated in our Zeng Zhushao National Excellent Graduates Exhibition as a member of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, I had an impression of him. He put some small robots in a small bottle like specimens, and I think this child is quite innovative. Later, we organized an international youth metal sculpture creation camp, which was known as Steel Summer. He also participated in our summer camp as an outstanding student recommended by Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. I planted a deeper impression on him during this summer camp because he suffered a serious injury at the beginning, almost breaking his leg. However, he still relied on crutches to complete a sculpture that was over 5 meters tall, which required a lot of labor. I immediately had an impression of him.

Later on, he applied to my graduate school, and I think this person is very resilient. To do our job, the first thing is to be able and not afraid of hardship. When we were teaching him, during those years when we were at home, we didn't have any materials, so we had to attend classes online. In this situation, Old Ma used disposable chopsticks and small garbage bags, and all the materials he could pick up at hand, and made a sculpture out of his wits. It was still a dynamic sculpture, but without conditions, he still made something. The three of them in their class simply rented a studio and worked together in the studio, working together for several years. They always say they are the future, but I say not. You are in the present continuous tense, presenting your research results, consolidating them, and the future is yours. Congratulations to Lao Ma, thank you to the curator, and thank you to the organizer. Thank you all.

Artist Ma Xiantong gave a speech on site

Thank you to the Common Art Center for providing better exhibition space for this batch of works. Thank you to Mr. Bao and Mr. Wen for their tolerance and understanding. They have given me enough time to repair and debug when I encounter some technical problems. Thank you to curator Li Guiming for his overall control and strict requirements on details during the exhibition process, which allowed these works to be presented more fully. Thank you, Teacher Li Mingwei, for your recommendation. It was at this opportunity that we had the initial exchange on this exhibition.

Exhibition Site

Thank you for your help. My personal energy is too weak. Whether it is in the creative process or arranging the exhibition site, the joyful achievements belong to every good friend who provides support. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Professor Sun Lu, as well as Professor Chen Ke, Professor Yang Jing, Professor Mou Boyan, and Professor Wang Chuan for being present today. I would like to express my gratitude to all the teachers for coming to the venue amidst their busy schedules. Thank you also to all the students and partners present today. Your arrival has brought vitality to the entire exhibition venue. Thank you all.

Ms. Bao Yu, co-founder of the Common Art Center, delivered a speech on site

We started creating galleries in 2015, and "Inorganic Circus" was the first installation exhibition. When I met Mr. Ma, I felt that he treated these works and the Tomorrow Sculpture Award as if he had completed a mission. This touched me deeply. Galleries should not only sell artworks, but also have more responsibility to promote contemporary art. Galleries should not only be responsible to collectors, but also lead them to provide strong support and unconditional love for contemporary art... The prosperity of the art ecosystem can usher in our own era, so we have firmly chosen this project.

During his exhibition process, I also realized the difficulty and instability of this metal device. He discovered artistry in industrial production, creating a sharp contrast between the principles of crane cranes and the "Infrastructure Ruihe Diagram". He reflected on the relationship between industry and art, rationality and sensibility, and the post industrial era and cultural identity.

Exhibition Site

The Joint Art Center is willing to allocate some resources every year to support young artists, because we don't want to see such excellent artists buried or even abandoned. Today, I heard some artists from Yunnan say that there were many artists living and developing in Beijing in the past, but now only one is continuing to hold on, which makes me very emotional. Therefore, we also want to leverage our own platforms, including the platform of Yangmei and everyone's communication ability, hoping to attract more attention and support from such artists. Thank you all.

Opening Ceremony

Group photo of guests at the opening ceremony

About Curator

Li Guiming

Curator and photographer. The current Art Director of HEX LAB is dedicated to digital content innovation and planning cross disciplinary art and cultural projects, empowering brands and businesses with art. Participated in the planning of the "Absolute Public Screen" project, using digital art exhibition forms to intervene in public open spaces and interact with the public.

As a photographer since 2005, he has been using his lens to pay attention to the development of contemporary Chinese art. He has been invited to visit hundreds of Chinese contemporary artist studios, including Cai Guoqiang, Zhang Xiaogang, Jia Aili, Wang Guangle, etc., to capture portraits of artists with distinctive characteristics of the times and the status of the studios, which have been published in important domestic and foreign media such as Basha Art, Vision, Art and Design, Hi Art, and Mirror Weekly. At the same time, it also recorded precious images of the ecological changes in the Beijing Art District, and is an important builder of contemporary Chinese art image literature. Starting in 2009, I participated in the overall planning and media promotion of hundreds of art exhibition projects as an art planner, covering important art museums, art institutions, and commercial spaces both domestically and internationally. After 2020, as a curator, he focused more on the development of digital media art and trendy art, and was committed to artistic intervention in more public spaces.

About Artist

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