RTSM | The Island - Special Topics - CAFA ART INFO | Find Chinese Contemporary Art and News

RTSM | The Island

“How does it feel . . .” he ventured, “to be a leper?” The question seemed so personal, but Maria did not hesitate to answer. “In some ways I feel no different now than I did a year ago, but I am different because I’ve been sent here,” she said. “It’s a bit like being in prison, for someone like me who’s not affected by the disease day to day. Except there are no locks on the door, no bars.”

—Victoria Hislop, The Island

Six feet (approximately two meters) is the safe “social distance” advocated under the pandemic. In the reality of society, the physical distance between people is separated. Isolated at home, people seem to become various floating islands. We start to think about the meaning of distance, dependence, and intimacy. At the same time, the intervention of the Internet allows more convenient communication between each other, which means people become used to confining themselves to the screen in a limited space. Distance, in this way, seems to have been unprecedentedly close. However, who is exactly talking with us through the screen? Is it the virtual or real “he or she”?

In this section, we have invited 15 artists/groups to create an ongoing discussion on the impact of the pandemic/post-pandemic era on individuals, lives, relationships, and society in different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

RTSM | The Island

Artists

RTSM | CHEN Xi: "Are we willing to be lunatics or fools?"

RTSM | comma: "The first lockdown had put our frenetic activities on hold and significantly slowed down the traffic and construction work allow us to reconnect with the earth..."

RTSM | DUAN Jianwei: Potraits in Winter

RTSM | JIANG Zhi: "Floating Dream on Mirror" & "Skin Bag"

RTSM | LIU Jin'an:"Deviating from the 'normal' thinking trajectory and making things achieve their goals in an abnormal result, this is 'genetically modified thinking'."

RTSM | LUO Min: "Spring Outings"

RTSM | LYU Yue (Aluna): No one can escape the pandemic influence and everyone has the responsibility to fight against it.

RTSM | MA Liang:"The development of a city and people’s private memories are in conflict with each other. Sometimes it’s like a life-and-death battle. "

RTSM | Dalila PASOTTI: "The Cosmos is my main reason and motivation in this life. "

RTSM | QIANG Yong: "Let the mind plug the wings of imagination"

RTSM | Hideho TANAKA: "This period may become a more positive milestone on the road of human symbiosis."

RTSM | Johan WAHLSTROM: "Even in the darkest times there is a glimpse of hope if we look for it."

RTSM | WANG Chuan: "These intangible tiny things and the claims about them made the whole world tremble and changed things that we still can't fully understand."

RTSM | YE Pei:"I believe more in the energy that is gathered and generated by all of us."

RTSM | You Open A Box: "Circle of influence"