FLESHWARE

This exhibition features a collection of works by Li Jingxiong made between 2011 and 2017 that sheds light on how the artist has altered and transformed his practice and conceptions over the years. Liminality, itself a derivation of the Latin word limen (meaning “threshold” or “gap”), is a reference to a state of uncertainty and disorientation that is not easily detected, unless the intensity of the sensory stimuli has reached a certain level.

Li is known for his ability to highlight dynamic role between certain colors and textures whilst using different art mediums for his artistic expression. His EGOBY Project (2014) displays a collection of snakeskin rugby balls, a symbol of human body physical movement. Then there is the BAIYIN#1(2016), which shows us the burnt, harsh surface of steel plates. Revealing the implicit bond between artist’s work environment and industrial production, works from different times both uncovered the essence of various elements in daily life after removing their own function. However comparing the revealing process of creation behind each of the works is like analyzing the difference between night and day.

The artist argues that this is a world of extremes, but such extremes are merely a production of the aforementioned concept of “liminality”. What we actually see, though, is the result itself, not what leads up to it. That is why art is so beautiful; we can use it to visualize the entire process and aesthetically capture its profoundness in a way that is finally and easily understandable to everyone who may ever come across it.

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