Exhibition provokes thoughts on crisis

The newly opened “On the Myth of Babel” exhibition at OCT Art & Design Gallery showcases contemporary artworks from nine artists and designers, covering a variety of forms and languages ranging from oil paintings, sculptures, prints, photos and installations. Entry is free but visitors may have to wait outside when there is overcrowding.

The title and theme of the exhibition comes from the “Tower of Babel” legend in the Bible: To prevent humans who speak a single language to build a tower to reach heaven, God confounds their speech so that they can no longer understand each other and scatters them around the world. The exhibition curators Yu Minlin and Xie Anyu said that thanks to the rapid development of technologies, some barriers among humans have been lifted but new crises come along and reflection is needed.

A visitor admires Feng Feng’s silkscreen print “The Scenery in Vivo — Kidney.” Photos courtesy of OCT Art & Design Gallery

At the exhibition, visitors can see the cherished memories of and grief for disappeared home places through Lu Hao’s oil painting series “Gone Home,” a reflection upon modern urban life and technologies through Xu Bacheng’s installation “The City of Immortality” and Hideki Nakajima’s “Street View/Line” print series, the chant of natural landscapes through Yang Jiecang’s color brush painting “Tale of the 11th Day — In the Fields,” the reverence for and praise of people’s piety through Yang Yankang’s photos series, and the thinking about and quest of the nature of eternity and life and death through Miao Xiaochun’s print “Fullness” and Huang Bingpei’s installation “Impermanence.” Feng Feng also expressed his thoughts on medical science through his silkscreen print series “The Scenery in Vivo,” and Guan Jingjing’s tempera on canvas series “Remnant Mountain” reflects her thoughts on modernity.

Xu Bacheng’s installation “The City of Immortality.”

The exhibition is small but each exhibit is presented with detailed Chinese and English profiles. The questions triggered by the artists through their works inspire visitors to think about the relationship between humans and the nature or the world.

Visitors must wear a face mask while inside the gallery and present ID information and a personal health code from the WeChat miniapp “深i您” upon arrival.

Dates: Until June 30

Hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., closed Mondays

Venue: OCT Art & Design Gallery, Nanshan District (南山区华 • 美术馆)

Metro: Line 1 to OCT Station (华侨城站), Exit C