2019.3.16- 2019.5.12
Artists: Li Yonggeng
Slitting open the canvas and sewing it up again with needle and thread, the neat needle works also sews together the coincidence and absurdity of the laceration. In his previous work Prescription series, the artist set these guidelines for himself, that these contradictory actions were not aimed to achieve any pictorial effect, instead, his meticulous work transforms the imposing chaos and depressions to orders and concerns, like the self-prescriptions, they offer certain healing quality.
In recent years, the rules of the game began to change. The artist has invited various people to slit the canvas open and adopt any approach to sew it up again based on the degree of its damage. By engaging opposing actions from the others, this adjustment unexpectedly complicates the work, every detail about damaging and repairing involves the experience and taste of the invited participants, as well as their psychological relations with the artist, either in their expectations, attempts, nervousness, calmness, respects for, silence or struggles, control, escape or even unfounded imagination and pain. These participants include the artist's teachers, friends, acquaintances to various extents, those he favors, and random people he's met… the artist and these individuals are both the subject and object, who are as much as opposing as united, and what brought them together was the piece of canvas bound on the frame, its densely knitted, the thread that pierces through both sides, which appear entirely different in our perception.
What lets the artist's hand seemed to be the goddess of Psyche, a goddess of "spirit" and "psychology", who is in command of all human conscience and subconsciousness. She sleeps with the god of love, Eros, embracing the fleshy body, while remaining eternally invisible from beginning to end, as if one stands in front of the mirror and is unable to see oneself. Yet, she hoped to gain a full perception, even taking the risk of losing everything. Slitting open the canvas to let the light in. It illuminates the self and others, and then passing of the needle and thread temporarily establish connections through the action of sewing. The artist's practice challenges the apotheosis of being an artist by inviting others to participate. Hence, he no longer embraces the reflection on the water, but turns towards others, and hands over the canvas, as he pushes conventional rules onto shaky grounds where he would confront the future as he mediates these dangerous relationships.