Wu Jian’an Solo Exhibition Spatial Design

About The Entry

PILLS was invited to design the space for "Wu Jian’an: The huge sand dunes are the bed of the sea", a large-scale solo exhibition held at the Silk Road International Art Exchange Center.

"The huge sand dunes are the bed of the sea" derives from the fact that the sea is the source of all things, and the sand dunes are the land under the sea. The sea and the sand dunes refer specifically to the natural cycle or the state between existence and absence. We create a surreal field in the exhibition hall of more than 1,000 square meters, with a five-meter-high dune, a black ocean, an endless mirror, and the rising and setting artificial light. The space and the artworks altogether complete an artificial eternal cycle of dreams. We want to use nature, geometry, space, and scale to bring the primal power of the real and the surreal to the audience. The exhibition space generates an energy field that transcends the limits of space and time to carry the narratives of artworks that travel through time, space, and civilizations.

The two searchlights on the site's diagonal corners constitute the exhibition's primary light source,becoming an artificial "sun" that rises in the east and sets in the west. The two lights are alternately lit, creating various lighting conditions that cast the works and space in crisp shadows, delineating pure geometry and ever-changing appearances. The dark shadows, the natural texture of the sand, the cold glare of the light, and the pure geometric cut of the forms are, in turn, reflected in the mirror and the water, layer by layer, drawing the viewer into the artist's mysterious narrative.