As early as 2006, when Chinese contemporary art was developing vigorously, namely, at the stage of constant search for the identity of Eastern culture in the Western context, the Macao Museum of Art co-organized the exhibition “Microcosmos: Chinese Contemporary Art” with the China Academy of Art. Regarding Macau as the platform for contemporary art, the China Academy of Art and the Macao Museum of Art interpreted the proposition of the times from such a special visual angle. It is also from that time when Chinese culture was emphasized as the mainstream, the Chinese and international contemporary arts started to develop and integrate continuously in Macau, resulting in today’s phenomenon that different contemporary arts co-exist and vitalize one another in Macau. This was not only one of the goals for the opening of the Macao Museum of Art but also the unique developing direction of Macau’s culture. Furthermore, it was also the cultural significance that Chinese contemporary art needs to exist independently.
Therefore, between the China Academy of Art, the academic forefront of Chinese art, and the Macao Museum of Art, where the international visions can be transferred and exchanged, there is a field of interconnection and cooperation, as well as cultural experimentation and social aesthetic education. This exhibition is in a sense an academic response to the Microcosmos: Chinese Contemporary Art (2006), which took place fifteen years ago at the Macao Museum of Art. Taking ‘history of the present as the perspective of textual research and historical sequence, this exhibition will question the current context of contemporary art in the country and abroad. In addition to some of the artists who participated in the aforementioned exhibition in 2006, this exhibition has also invited artists at the forefront of international contemporary art, media artists from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the emerging artists in contemporary art. Originated from different societies and artistic creations, they have repeatedly asked, verified, experimented with these questions, and put these questions into practice. Based on their daily social perceptions, they have constructed ‘extraordinary’ social resonance and have used their artistic creations to face their ‘near future’ art responsibility directly changing from viewing the world to world views.
Rhythm #03 by Cindy Ng Sio Ieng
Therefore, the starting point of this exhibition is a way of viewing; therefore, the title is ‘Multi-Prismatic Mutual Views’. The prism is not only an energy gathering of high-density information and images, but also an energy field where various social realities and individual values, and cultural genes constantly intertwine and collide. The exhibition invited 32 contemporary artists (groups) from different places, who have themselves formed a multi-pronged and mutual- viewing art scene, regardless of region, age structure, media approach, or way of expression. The exhibition hopes to highlight the multi prismatic and mutual viewing art scenery of the artists’ experimental creative outlook and to explore new paths in the presentation and study of contemporary art through the professional team of the Macao Museum of Art and the academic discourse of the China Academy of Art. ‘View’ is the new world view formed in the current artistic context. It is also the mutual observation of artists from different cultural contexts. And it is also a window of ‘view’ for cultural exchanges and multicultural coexistence in Macao. Such ‘view’ is derived from the multiple combinations of various cultures from a global perspective. It is not only a game under the control of technology but also the reasoning of continuous self-examination of multiple cultures and history. It is reflective thinking of human life in the pandemic era, and also the human being’s passion and hesitation about the future.
‘Multi-Prismatic Mutual Views’ is a metaphor highlighting the artists, accompanied by physical materials. By constructing a worldview statement in the context of artworks, the exhibition hopes to confront the current reality of decentralization, to constantly ‘refract’ the individual positions of artists through their actions, to question the essential issues of art and society. The multiple interfaces of the prism reflect their diverse value orientations and artistic identities, allowing the continuous generation and transmission of artistic energy with the continuous ‘refraction’. The exhibition will use a variety of media such as painting, video, installation, and AR/VR to present the experimental creations of artists across cultures and fields in the age of all media.
This may not only be an exhibition, but also a long-waited artistic ‘event’. At this moment and in this context, Macao has turned her role from the local development to the blending of the context of contemporary art. It is like a polygonal prism. Under the influence of refraction and co-existence, it has formed an angle of mutual views. From the perspective of mutual relations and under the circumstances of dynamics and blending, the works will examine contemporary art in the multi-contextual artistic reality, forming an artistic trend of mutual friction and stimulation, yet constructing a new mechanism of art production and value identity in the future. Under the ‘multi-prismatic’ effect, with mutual observation and establishment of artistic references and values, Macau will become a multi-dimensional interactive cultural jewel of the new China, which ‘lives toward the sea’.
When: November 25, 2021–February 6, 2022
Where: Macao Museum of Art, Avenida Xian Xing Hai, NAPE, Macau
How much: Free admission
For more information, check the event’s official website
