Have you ever heard of the “Uncanny Valley”? This term was first proposed by German psychiatrist Ernst Jentsch in the early 20th century and later expanded upon by Japanese robotics expert Masahiro Mori in 1970. The idea is that when people see objects that have similar characteristics or traits to themselves, they naturally develop a liking towards them. However, when an object closely resembles a human but also exhibits an unnatural quality, it can be perceived as strange or even evoke fear. Therefore, we may feel a sense of aversion towards exaggerated clown faces, sculptures, or humanoid robots.
The exhibition “Terrifying Valley: Flesh” explores how Chinese artists incorporate these themes into modern paintings, sculptures, and video works. These works imbue characters with psychological, existential, and symbolic meanings, combining a sense of inner familiarity with deliberate dissonance, which is starkly different from the majority of artistic depictions of characters in art history. When viewers see the bizarre flesh in the works, they unconsciously fill in a lot of “inner dramas” in their minds, easily leading to a state of intense contemplation and fear, making the process of interpreting the works more intriguing.
The exhibition is curated by independent curator Yang Zi, who is based in Beijing, and brings together new works by a group of Chinese artists including Owen Fu, Jiang Jing, Li Heidi, Li Wei Yi, Na Buqi, Song Yuanyuan, Su Yuxin, Wang Haiyang, Wang Xiaoqu, Wang Xingwei, and Zhang Zipiao.
Jiang Cheng’s portrait paintings employ overlapping and blurry techniques to depict characters in a way that differs from still portraits, transcending the opposition between the physical body and the mind. Other artists also depict the relationships between characters, objects, and backgrounds in different ways. For example, Wang Xingwei’s “Sunset at the Old Summer Palace” (2020) uses a playful technique to depict the naked and closing figures from behind. In Wang Xiaoyue’s works, the fragmented body parts evoke the physical limitations of the body and endless desires.
“Terror Valley: Corporeal”
Date: January 31, 2023 to March 4, 2023
Time: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Location: 7th floor, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central, Hong Kong
Image source and learn more: Gagosian
