The Great Manual of (Post) Human Anatomy
Venue： Hanart TZ Gallery
2/F, Mai On Industrial Building,
17-21 Kung Yip Street, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong
Exhibition period： 13th July – 3rd August, 2024
Curators： Abby Chen and Dia Yu
Artists： Yu CHEN, Jing XU, Vic FU, Huzi, Yu CUI
Y-Hatcher, Weixi KUANG, Junpeng LIANG
Fei LIU, Ziyi QIU, Feiyang ZHANG,
Ruoxi REN, Yuxin LIN, Zheng YUAN
Organizer： Hanart TZ Gallery
China Academy of Art
Central Art Museum
Co-Organizer： School of Intermedia Art, China Academy of Art
Media City R&D Center, China Academy of Art
China Academy of Art Education Foundation
Director： CHANG Tsong Zung Johnson and Yan WANG
Starting from July 2024, Hanart TZ Gallery will present two consecutive exhibitions, curated by the awardees from the “ECP: Stars Emerging Curator Project”. Initiated by the China Academy of Art, Central Art Museum (Hangzhou) and China Resources Mixc Lifestyle, this programme is committed to provide young curators and artists platforms and supports.
The Great Manual of (Post) Human Anatomy, one of the awarded proposals of the “ECP: Stars Emerging Curator Project”, is co-curated by Dia YU and Abby CHEN. Featuring 14 artists, the exhibition explores the “infection”, “fusion” and “transformation” of the body that results from its interaction with different entities: whether mechanical and technological phenomena or other living beings in the natural ecology. The explorations give rise to questions relating to the ethics of science and technology, the complex interfaces between the fleshly body and the machine, and the relationship between humans and the species that they classify as “the other”.
The opening reception of The Great Manual of (Post) Human Anatomy will take place on 13th July, 2024 (Saturday) 2 – 6pm at Hanart TZ Gallery in Kwai Chung, with the presence of the curators, participating artists, and Yan WANG (Director of Central Art Museum and China Academy of Art).
The exhibition runs till the 3rd of August 2024.
In Qing-dynasty China, the year 1851 saw the publication of a groundbreaking book on human anatomy, entitled A New Theory of the Body or Quanti xinlun in Chinese. [Compiled by the China-based British physician Benjamin Hobson (1816-1873, Chinese name He Xin)], the book was instrumental in introducing Western anatomic knowledge to China. The painstakingly rendered anatomical diagrams and the detailed texts dissected each layer of the human body, from the skeleton to the internal organs, analyzing the body’s structure and operation. This information had the effect of subverting traditional Chinese medicine’s theories regarding the form and function of internal organs and meridians. A New Theory of the Body had a catalyzing effect, bringing a new perspective on “viewing” the body to the field of Chinese medicine.
The 21st century has been marked by the rise of the era of Posthumanism, in which the development of biotechnology, bionic mechanisms and artificial intelligence is creating a completely new body aesthetic. The body is no longer seen as a purely a flesh-and-blood entity, but rather as a complex entity that undergoes modification and reconstruction and is in a constant state of “becoming.” The exhibition The Great Manual of (Post) Human Anatomy seeks to carry forward the revolutionary impact that A New Theory of the Body had on research into and views of the human body in the 19th century, by applying a “generative” perspective and recasting the body as an open and pluralistic site. Within this site, the exhibiting artists equally explore the “infection”, “fusion” and “transformation” of the body that results from its interaction with different entities–whether mechanical and technological phenomena or other living beings in the natural ecology. Their artistic explorations give rise to questions relating to the ethics of science and technology, the complex interfaces between the fleshly body and the machine, and the relationship between humans and the species that they classify as “the other”.
About the Curators:
The two-person DA Curatorial Team consists of Abby CHEN and Dia YU. Abby CHEN is a graduate of The Australian National University, Canberra, with a major in Art History and Theory, while Dia YU graduated from the University of New South Wales with a major in Curating and Cultural Leadership. DA’s areas of interest include the exploration of technology’s impact on shaping the social landscape of the future, with a special focus on marginalized groups. In their curatorial projects, DA examines the changes enacted in the human body under the impact of scientific and technological interventions and enhancements, and the implications this holds for the body’s future existential paradigm.
Yu CHEN
Yu CHEN is a visual artist, digital fashion designer and interdisciplinary designer currently based in London. CHEN graduated from the Royal College of Art, London with a degree in Information Experience Design. Drawing from his diverse professional backgrounds in information experience design and fashion design, in his artistic practice Yu Chen focusses on the integration of virtual experience technology (such as VR/virtual reality and MR/mixed reality, etc.) and digital fashion, creating narrative works that invite audience interaction.
Yu CHEN’s artistic process is strongly informed by the creative concept of the “phygital” (physical plus digital) that blend virtual experiences with physical ones. His works integrate digital fashion aesthetics with technological innovations to create a richer and more immersive artistic experience for the audience. Deeply inspired by theories of posthumanism and queer ecology, the artist seeks to explore how Posthumanist concepts and machine-centric perspectives have informed the current conditions for the production of social identity and the expression and shaping of self-identity. Populating his works with digitally-generated self-replicas, Yu CHEN uses these figures as a visual output carrier in creating scenarios that integrate research on non-binary ecological aesthetics and Ballroom culture into a performative digital platform, enacting his own form of “identity performance”.
Through an integration of conceptual narrative design, virtual technology and visual effects, Yu CHEN strives to enhance the sense of connectivity between the digital image and the audiences, and to create avenues of liberation from the shackles of anthropocentrism. Using a fluid non-binary perspective, CHEN creates opportunities for people to engage in a re-examination of the self and to discover more diverse means of expression in both life and love.
Yu CHEN, The Alter Ego
2022, CGI Imaging, 3’ 24”
In this video work the artist applies the concept of “critical fabulation”–that is, adding fictional details to factual materials–to imagine the possibilities of post-identity and the world they would inhabit. In an era where cyborgs have become the latest fashion and technology rules the world, we are able to shape our own bodies and define our own forms.
Jing XU and Vic FU
Jing XU is a fashion designer and 3D artist living in London. She holds degrees in fashion design from the from Parsons School of Design, New York and the Royal College of Art, London. Jing XU’s practice begins from a cyborg perspective and explores non-binary identity and body technology through the production of 3D-printed interactive body devices, CGI images, and performance art. For her, the cyborg is not only an existential subject, but also a metaphor through which she expresses her concerns about the future relationship between human beings and the world. Using xeno-feminism as her entry point, she explores queer identity, technology, and spiritualism through the cyborg metaphor.
Vic FU is a visual artist, photographer, and video editor living in New York. She studied fine art at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Her artistic practice mainly explores connections between nature and the body. She has worked in light art, sculpture, and mixed media, and currently specializes in video installations and video art.
Jing XU and Vic FU, Weddings
2023, Video, 2’ 55”
“People, we don’t have much time. We must hold our weddings like executions at the stake. We must bury ourselves like bodies buried at a funeral. This is the marriage of machines and humans, the marriage of theory and fiction, the marriage of the emotional and the carnal It is the merging of sensibility and carnality, of tears, blood and lead.”
Huzi
Huzi was born in Yixing, Jiangsu in 1998 and lives and works in Nanjing. He received a joint bachelor’s degree from the Nanjing University of the Arts, China and the University of Plymouth, UK. He also holds a Master’s degree in oil painting from Nanjing University of the Arts. In his works Huzi adopts a childlike perspective, observing and recording the world with a child’s curiosity. Fascinated with the interplay of light and shadow, Huzi creates fairytale images rendered in rich and diffused colors that conjure star-scattered dreamscapes.
Huzi, Kiss the Sea
2023-2024, Oil on canvas, 20 x 20 cm each, 8 works
“Whisper sweet nothings to the sea, with a gentle touch, feel its mystery.” The artist combines the form of the corporeal human body with shelly creatures to depict the romance of the anthropomorphic intertwining of two different species.
Yu CUI
Yu CUI’s art focuses on exploring the complex relationship between nature and female identity. By studying the ecological mechanisms of hermaphroditic plants (such as pea flowers and black bat flowers) and special organisms (such as octopi and sea slugs), Yu CUI engages in morphological and aesthetic explorations that reveal the intrinsic tension of life. Incorporating elements of ecology, feminism and cyborg theory in his work across various media, including installation, video art and painting, CUI reflects philosophically on the future state of human survival.
Yu CUI, Instinctual Language
2024, Mixed media installation, Dimensions variable
In the process of natural evolution, human tails gradually degenerated and disappeared. In the same way, the rapid development of science and technology has gradually eroded direct emotional communication between people. Through the interaction of two mechanical tails, this work symbolizes the subtle and complex emotional connection between human beings, especially the non-verbal communication that takes place in ambiguous relationships. Merleau-Ponty’s theory of embodiment emphasizes that the human body is not only a tool for the senses, but also a medium for emotion and cognition. As part of the cognitive process, the body and its parts are directly involved in our perception and understanding of the world. In “Instinctual Language”, the tail is not only part of the installation, but also a bridge to convey unspoken emotions.
Y-Hatcher
Y-Hatcher was born in 1998 in Shenyang, Liaoning province. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in photography from the Department of Information Art and Design, Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University, Beijing, graduating in 2021. He currently lives in Beijing. His works cover a wide range of topics relating to human beings, society, nature and the universe, and are not limited to any particular medium. He uses installation, video, photography, sculpture, sound art, etc. to lead the audience to move beyond physical sensation and to engage in a process of reflection and self-searching. He advocates a return to the essence of human nature to explore ways of thinking and communicating with people and the world on a deeper level of consciousness.
Y-Hatcher, Body Rubbings
2023, Photograph: Archival inkjet print, 34 x 28.3 cm each, 8 works
The body acts as a bridge between humans and the world, and is regarded as a safe haven for the soul. Body Rubbings interpret the body not just as a biological structure, but as a symbol of life, existence, suffering and transcendence. Each surgical operation shapes a new chapter in the story of life. In Body Rubbings, the scars left on the skin by the metal surgical tools subtly speak to the relationship between time and existence. These pattern on the skin are dialogues between life and death, symbolizing the struggle between man and nature. Scars and marks are symbols of existentialism and the search for the meaning of life. Ultimately, they are bridges connecting matter and spirit.
Weixi KUANG, Junpeng LIANG, Fei LIU, Ziyi QIU
Artists Weixi KUANG, Junpeng LIANG, Fei LIU and Ziyi QIU are affiliated with the Research Institute of Science and Creation at the School of Design and Innovation, China Academy of Art. They are currently specializing in material research, speculative design, biodesign, and algorithmic aesthetics. Their work addresses ethical and ecological challenges being faced in this era of technological change, including natural ethics, ecological crisis, and sustainability issues. Biodesign provides ways to harness new inspirations and methodologies in the biological sciences, and to embrace diversity and uncertainty in ways that will aid the progress of human society, while the use of biotechnology can help to create greater sustainability and innovative solutions for the world of the future. The artists’ works have won fourteen domestic and international awards, and have been exhibited at the China International Design Museum, the West Bund Art Museum in Shanghai and the Zhejiang Exhibition Hall.
Weixi KUANG, Junpeng LIANG, Fei LIU, Ziyi QIU, Picowgtuna
2022, Installation, White resin, Paint
70 x 43 x 13cm, 25 x 8 x 8cm, 25 x 8 x 8cm, 25 x8 x 8cm, in total of 4
The design of Picowgtuna’s internal organs and skin references the body shapes of different species, including pigs, cows and tuna. In the Posthumanist era, the boundaries between species have been breached, and all living things merge with each other, alternatively infecting each other and reshaping their own physical state. This work aims to guide the audience to think about the relationship between humans and the cultivation systems of the future within the frame of Posthumanist logic.
Feiyang ZHANG
Feiyang ZHANG is an artist who is completely immersed in the world of the creative mind. During her undergraduate studies she was accepted into artist and professor Nick Cave’s graduate program in the Fashion Department of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2015). After graduating, Feiyang worked as a freelance designer for the Vivienne Tam and Sachin & Babi fashion brands. She is currently based in London, where she focuses on textile and innovative design, including material future, embroidery design and installation art. She is seeking further opportunities to build her career in the creative field.
Feiyang ZHANG, Shelter, Cemetery
2022, Mixed-media installation
Screen, Gelatin, Corn flour, Oil, Vinegar, Pigment / Pigment mixture
Dimensions variable
The real world is full of dangers and challenges. The invisible damage caused by industrial pollution is slowly and relentlessly changing the way we evolve. In this work the artist simulates the effect of Posthuman skin mutations by referencing the characteristics of luminous creatures such as jellyfish and frogs, as well as the variety of conditions that can occur on human skin. The work narrates the struggles of the body as it tries to adapt and mutate in order to survive in an extreme environment.
Ruoxi REN
New media artist Ruoxi REN received her Bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua Fine Art Academy in 2019 and her Master’s degree in interactive design from the University of the Arts London in 2021. Her works include interactive installations, paintings, artificial intelligence art, videos, and performances. Her works have been exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Ars Electronica Festival in Berlin, and the Asian Crypto Art Week. She excels at combining digital media with physical media to explore the invisible system of human beings and non-humans, nature and machines in the Anthropocene from a perceptual and poetic perspective, focusing on the transmission of spiritual core and inner emotions behind the works.
Ruoxi REN, Electronic Eucharist
2023, Installation: Aluminum plate heat transfer, Glass, Soldering fixture, Wax
Dimensions variable
“Carbon-based life is the admirer of smoothness, they use their largest organs as sophisticated pilgrimage tools”, said Rouxi REN, “fingertip touching the light of silicon-based life, that is the truth of the future and a deconstruction and regeneration of the self”. In order to create tension with the sensual experience of this touch, Ren intentionally uses chip soldering brackets, Fresnel lenses and other readymade products of the electronics industry to dissolve the softness brought by the waxy touch of the pure organ, and to give the biologically based emotions an industrial cut, so as to express the state of the future carbon-silicon community of life that combines the mind and machines.
The works shown in this exhibition feature typical characteristics of the Electronic Eucharist series – the sense of touch and industrial textures. Touch, as a basic cognitive sense of the human body, helps us to filter all kinds of information. For example, when sliding open a mobile phone with one’s fingers, the brain will automatically block out the sensation of tactility and only transmit the content displayed on the mobile phone screen. In the artist’s view, the life forms of the future will likely no longer be carbon-based organisms that exist in reality, but rather a cyborg manifesto that arises with the abandonment of all boundaries. To characterise this life form, artist retains the sense of touch and places the object of the finger’s touch in the open whole.
Yuxin LIN
Yuxin LIN is a visual designer and installation artist, and a graduate of the City University of Hong Kong. Her primary creative media include interactive installations, sound art and video art. LIN seeks to use these forms to explore the social problems caused by conflicts between local culture and modernization, as well as the different conditions occurring in people living in a state of oppression.
Yuxin LIN, Rusty Body
2024, Installation: Iron, Electric motor, Acrylic, 175 x 30 x 30 cm
This highly efficient and modernized life is causing my body to rust little by little. Modern diseases and long hours of sitting at a desk are causing my body to slowly erode. Even though it is harmful, I still find it difficult to leave my desk, chair and computer. Between my boss’s urging and my mother’s concern, I find myself caught in a dilemma of whether to change or to just carry on.
Zheng YUAN
Zheng YUAN’s artistic practice mainly revolves around mixed media sculpture and visual art. He explores topics such as artificial intelligence, botany, mythology, and Posthumanism. Working with artificial intelligence as a creative tool, Zheng conceived, collaborated on and co-constructed a series of visual works that consider the human condition in a Posthumanist world and that exist in a decentralized state. His reflections on science, observations of nature and exploration of questions of human existence, have enabled him to construct a series of speculative landscapes in his artistic projects.
Zheng YUAN, Parallel Botany
2023, Video: AI animation, 3’ 54”
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