Tim Yip's SZ exhibition: Where real and virtual collide

Oscar-winning artist Tim Yip has created “Mirror Garden,” a captivating exhibition at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning, where the real and virtual worlds collide. 

A scene at Tim Yip’s “Mirror Garden” exhibition at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning. Photos by Cao Zhen unless otherwise stated

Visitors can experience Yip’s visually stunning installations, videos, sketches, photographic works, and garments, all showcasing his distinctive “New Orientalism” aesthetic. This multidisciplinary Chinese artist once again redefines the boundaries of artistic expression.

Giant Lili installations at the exhibition.

A glance at the “Mirror Garden” exhibition.

Hailing from Hong Kong, Yip is best known for his work on Ang Lee’s martial arts film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” for which he won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Costume Design in 2001.

Beyond his celebrated roles as an art director and costume designer, Yip actively engages in contemporary art, theater, and other creative fields, continuously pushing the limits of multiple art forms. His “New Orientalism” merges avant-garde concepts with traditional Chinese elements, influencing a broad spectrum of artistic and cultural landscapes.

Tim Yip (holding a microphone) introduces his works at the exhibition in Shenzhen on Friday.

Garments designed by Tim Yip on display.

The central figure of the Shenzhen exhibition is Lili, an enigmatic mannequin resembling a young Chinese woman. Yip has taken Lili around the world, capturing her presence in various settings — bars, restaurants, streets — photographing her interacting with locals as if she were alive. Lili’s sunglasses conceal her eyes, inviting the audience to ponder her hidden thoughts and emotions.

“Lili carries no specific narrative or certainty; instead, she traverses different temporal and spatial settings, interacts with diverse people, and immerses herself in the past, present, and even future. Using Lili as both a vessel and an artistic language, I piece together an existence that accumulates through overlapping layers — growing ever closer to the infinite — across different places at the same moment, or the same place across different moments,” Yip explains.

Giant Lili installations at the exhibition.

A giant Lili installation at the exhibition.

The creation of Lili began in 2007 with Yip’s bronze sculpture “Desire,” a statue that weeps tears through an integrated water system. Since then, Lili has evolved into a central figure in Yip’s body of work, appearing in various forms. At the exhibition, one can admire stunning giant Lili installations and an alien-esque version.

“Lili is a series of my conceptual artworks. She guides viewers through a multiverse of existence and inspires them to rethink and perceive the truths of time, space, virtuality, and reality,” Yip says. “I create art from an anthropological perspective, always questioning — which I believe is the driving force of life.”

“This exhibition constructs two virtual realms: one is the reality of temporal existence, woven from all unfolding moments, and the other is a mythological cosmos emerging from our conceptual realm of ideals,” he adds.

“Desire,” a bronze statue that weeps tears through an integrated water system. 

A scene at the exhibition.

A sculpture by Tim Yip on display.

Curated by Dr. Luo Yi, the exhibition also features Yip’s first AIGC (artificial intelligence generated content) film, “Courier.” “In Yip’s exploration of contemporary art, he consistently emphasizes the connection between tradition and the future, using technology as a tool to realize this vision. Lili, reflecting both reality and illusion, embodies Yip’s meditation on humanity in the technological era,” says Yan Weixin, director of the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning.

“As viewers navigate Lili’s countless avatars and engage with the interplay of Yip’s sculptures and videos, they will encounter a unique experience that transcends mediums and blurs the boundaries between the tangible and the virtual,” Yan adds.

Dates: Through Sept. 7

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (Normally closed Mondays; open June 2 for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday and closed June 3)

Tickets: 35-50 yuan; Lili's Mirror Garden Combo: 390 yuan (including a single ticket, Exhibition Special Issue and a Tyvek bag)

Venue: Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning, Futian District (深圳市当代艺术与城市规划馆)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit A2

More photos:

Photos by Lin Songtao