Cao Zhen caozhen0806@126.com FRESH Vision, an annual exhibition of artworks by Chinese fine arts graduates, is being held at C2 in OCT-LOFT. Organized by the OCAT Shenzhen and OCT Art & Design Gallery, this year’s exhibition features participating academies including China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University Academy of Art and Design, China Academy of Art, Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, Lu Xun Fine Arts Institute, Xi’an Fine Arts Institute, Shanghai Institute of Visual Art and Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. “The graduation exhibition is a moment for young artists to establish individuality. Possessing independent critical thinking has become a significant feature of young artists when they create works,” said the exhibition’s curator Fan Lin, who is a professor at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Fan noted that contemporary culture provides a number of topics and perspectives, such as: identity and space, body and language, science and technology. Through these topics, the young artists present deep thinking and description of the outside world and the inner world. Some of the most creative artwork at the exhibition are a series of embroidery pieces by Shanghai Institute of Visual Art graduate Wu Yingli. She took photos of her friends and printed them on organza, a thin, plain weave, sheer fabric traditionally made from silk. She then made alterations of the images by stitching on embroidery on the organza, such as lifting noses, augmenting breasts, reshaping legs and applying eyeliner. Wu believes consumption culture is influencing people’s perception of beauty and the plastic surgery craze is a social problem. She says using threads and stitches to alter the images is similar to plastic surgery and in this context, embroidery is no longer a decoration for cloth but a reflection of traditional culture being modernized. China Academy of Art graduate Li Yingqi’s work shows Li’s care for Alzheimer patients. “The Memory of Backflow” is a giant baby crib fit for an adult to lie in. The crib with high sides has a transparent balloon inside. Li’s installation is inspired from her experience of taking care of a family member who suffers Alzheimer disease. During the experience, Li found the person’s declining condition was irreversible and finally he lost control over the bodily functions, like a baby. As the person withdrew from family and society, he was like a prisoner lying in the crib with high sides. Some art students show their perplexities towards life at the crossroads of their lives before graduation. Huang Jiangzi, a graduate from China Central Academy of Fine Arts, questions the beginning and the end of life in her oil paintings “Endless Loop.” One oil painting features a symphony orchestra while the other painting only shows empty seats on the stage with instrument left. Her description of the paintings says life is like an endless loop or a stage with endless performances without beginning and end. “Graduation works in recent years reflect that the students not only use common aesthetic language in their artwork but also touch upon sociological, psychological and anthropological issues. Their knowledge in these fields makes their artwork more dynamic,” said curator Fan. Dates: Until Nov. 4 Hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., closed Mondays Venue: C2, North Area, OCT-LOFT, Enping Road, Overseas Chinese Town, Nanshan District (南山区华侨城恩平路创意文化园北区C2) Metro: Luobao Line, Qiaocheng East Station (侨城东站), Exit A | 