Wei Jie

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AN immersive installations exhibition by Zheng Guogu and his Yangjiang Group has opened at the Sea World Culture and Arts Center (SWCAC),  offering visitors a fresh and dynamic bodily sensory experience.

Said to be SWCAC’s flagship annual exhibition, “Zheng Guogu/Yangjiang Group: Body Beyond the Rules” is the first solo museum show in China for the influential artist and his collective Zheng Guogu/Yangjiang Group in a decade, featuring primarily new works created specifically for the occasion. The exhibition is curated by SWCAC in collaboration with the Zheng Guogu Art Museum and the Yangjiang Contemporary Art Museum in Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province.

The show explores the intersection of contemporary social structures and bodily crises. Rooted in calligraphy and energy, the artists deconstruct and reactivate perceptions of the body.

Comprising Zheng Guogu, Chen Zaiyan, and Sun Qinglin, the Yangjiang Group holds a distinctive position in contemporary Chinese art. Their work is deeply embedded in the cultural evolution of southern China, particularly the Yangjiang region, where they were born and are based. Zheng’s practice spans performance, photography, painting, sculpture, spatial installation, and architecture, all driven by reflections on everyday life and its transformation.

The Yangjiang Group experimentally expands traditional Chinese calligraphy into diverse art forms, using it as both medium and springboard. Their works have been exhibited at leading international venues such as the Guggenheim Museum, the Venice Biennale, MoMA PS1, the MAXXI Museum in Rome, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul.

Using calligraphy and xuanzhi paper as primary materials, the group creates an immersive “virtual sea” spanning 1,400 square meters within the exhibition space. “The contemporary body is a virtual body,” Zheng said.

The exhibition is organized into three thematic sections — “Reforging the body,” “Gathering the spirit,” and “Liberating the form” — each addressing distinct aspects of the contemporary body.

More than a conventional exhibition, this project offers a multisensory, collaborative “resonance” experience, providing a profound exploration of the body, technology, and spirituality. “The future of the contemporary body begins with embracing the virtual,” Zheng remarked.

Dates: Until Oct. 26

Venue: L2 UCCN Gallary, Sea World Culture and Arts Center, Nanshan District (海上世界文化艺术中心)

Metro: Line 2 or 12 to Sea World Station (海上世界站), Exit A