In partnership with contemporary art institution Faurschou Foundation, artist Liu Wei has presented an installation titled Microworld at Venice Biennale 2019.
The installation is featured as part of the Entropy group exhibition. Including Wei, the group consists of He An, Yang Fudong, Zhao Zhao, Sun Xun, Yu Ji, and Chen Tianzhuo.
Comprised of curved geometric shapes made from polished aluminum plates, the installation is placed behind a transparent wall.
“Microworld embodies a different kind of privileged gaze. In the context of the physical world, it represents the fundamental component of the world,” explained Faurschou Foundation.
“In the anthropological cognitive system, the “microscopic world,” as the smallest, most indivisible unit from which no more cells can be divided, represents a low-level existence,” said Faurschou Foundation. “Meanwhile, since molecules, elements, protons and other microscopic things are invisible to the naked eye, to the ancients, the “microworld” was a description of others, the natural kingdom from before their time, a different model of the world from the imagination.”
“Humans needed a particular privilege to be able to complete this act of imagination, interpretation and seeing,” added Faurschou Foundation. “In modern society, humanity’s reverence for the mystery of the “microworld” has been dispelled by the rationality of technology. The artist uses this artwork to elicit new reflection in the viewer on this ancient topic.”
