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Cissy(Yutong) Cai is a curator, writer and creator.

蔡雨彤是一位青年策展人、写作者、艺术家​。

RECENT WORKS
近期项目

Ideas have people, 2023

Safe House,  London

The inspiration for this exhibition is deeply rooted in Carl Jung's theories of the collective unconscious and complexes. Within the realm of Jungian psychology, complexes refer to clusters of significant unconscious elements or deeply embedded impulses within an individual's mysterious psychological state. Exploring complexes serves as a profound method of delving into the depths of the psyche, and artistic creation often emerges from the unique complexes held by the creators.

As the curator gathered relevant information about the artworks featured in this exhibition, a series of inquiries began to emerge. Despite each person seemingly possessing their own unique complexes and using art as a means to express these personal narratives, in an era increasingly focused on individualization and self-expression, is there an underlying collective imprint that influences these individual pursuits? In the process of seeking liberation from the collective and attempting to erase shared memories, is it possible that we are witnessing another manifestation of the collective unconscious, a reflection of our times? Can individuals truly break free from the constraints of the collective and achieve genuine individualization, a niche existence?

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ONLINE CATALOGUE

Dwelling on the Clouds, 2022  

Ugly Duck, London 

The exhibition is built on the shared cloud existence that people have nowadays. Clouds have been an integral aspect of human life since the beginning of time, and their meanings are constantly shifting. 
Poetic Dwelling, The Arrival of Rationality, and The Expulsion of the Other comprise the show. The pieces featured will explore questions of contemporaneity around our knowable clouds and unknowable clouds. Dwelling on the clouds, do we have the potential to escape this chaotic state, return to the earth, and gain the freedom in nature to gaze at a piece of cloud again?

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REVIEW

ONLINE CATALOGUE

Sleepless Elysium, 2022  

The Venice Arsenale, La Tesa,Venice

Inspired by therapeutic art, this exhibition explores a return to the essence of the human being and the quest for inner harmony and stability in the context of ongoing upheavals in which anxiety and uncertainty have become the norm. Since the end of modernism, artistic attempts venturing into irrationality and unconsciousness have pointed to the need for and potential for spiritual liberation. In the 1980s, art theorist Rudolf Arnheim proposed 'art as therapy' as a new development in the democratization of art. Art as a functional and expressive language has been interpreted in a variety of rituals, and with the web3 and metaverse becoming an irresistible trend, perhaps projects such as techno-shamanism and digital healing, which return to the essential needs of the human being from technicality, are a crucially needed by the contemporary humans.

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Threshold, 2022  

Craft Central, London

One of the meanings of ‘threshold’ in the dictionary is ‘the level at which something starts to happen or have an effect.' The idea of threshold explores space that is transcendental, a voyage that is a byproduct of the history of the gallery space as a shipbuilding metal forge. Many artworks within the exhibition take the idea of threshold and respond to the fluidity of space. In this otherworldly and fluid space against the everyday narratives, four artists create a field condition that transcends life situations and psychological time based on the site's characteristics. There are juxtapositions of modern discourse and history in their works, as well as fantastical metaphors for social reality. They construct a borderless and undefinable space through different media such as video, painting, and installation. The tensions conveyed by focal and digital natural elements, figurative expressions, abstract graffiti, and different material languages are subjective and expandable.

Manifesting the voyage, and not just travel, all drawings and paintings represent the intensity of memory, vulnerability, and pining desire to hold on to the anchor of home, family, and comfort in recognition, but a reflection of the confrontation with growing up. Hopefully, at some point in this exhibition, you will experience a moment of out-of-body concentration or trance in a field that transcends linear time.

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City of Youth Power, 2021 

Twinkle Gallery, Hangzhou

This is a well-designed commercial project that cooperated with Xingyao company, providing a group exhibition with the appreciation of the unseen beauty of a hotel. This exhibition mainly deals with photography, tapping into the artistry in the Lakeside Hotel, and recruiting artists for residencies The exhibition has received widespread attention and sponsorship.

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Xie Xiaodong Solo Exhibition, 2021 

 Luck Gallery, Hangzhou

Nothingness and eternity, as well as individuals and groups, are eternal topics that are embedded in all aspects of human existence. Even if they are not explicitly mentioned, they cannot be ignored. Theosophist Gautier once stated that the eyes are transparent, allowing one to see into the human heart. If artwork were to be categorized, the artist's instinctive and authentic portrayal of their worldview may be the most direct form of expression.

Everything originates from life, and there are already too many visible and invisible ambiguous thoughts regarding the very nature of existence. Some seek eternity while others wander through the realm of the senses. In most of the artist's works, non-artificial objects are utilized to convey naturalistic aesthetics. Through these works, one can catch a glimpse of ancient sentiments or real-life experiences that embody a sense of innocence. The totem, the body, and the self-evident traceability all lead back to the relationship between oneself and the world. Rather than aiming for profundity, artists prefer to express their ideas in a language that is as light as air, yet still carries deep connotations.

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If you don’t visit this exhibition, you cannot say that you are a Chinese, 2021

Huifa Art Centre,Shanghai    

This exhibition sets the tone by building a situation of extreme order in terms of volume. Huge symbolic works with meanings, lecterns, red plastic chairs, urinals, flamingos, music scores, and dreams are placed within a regular and solemn framework, all seemingly related and unrelated. It is hard to summarize what kind of situation this is. All the solemn elements are replaced, but the grand order is preserved; the meaning behind the mixed references is not directly related. We intend to create such an incestuous event for the viewer, where the urinal is in the solemn venue, next to the guests' seats; the microphone of the speech is replaced by a ping-pong ball... Decent performances and speeches are coexisting with real daily life that seems not public, but will something with metaphorical profound meaning still be valid in the absurd occasion? Will it still hold true? Or, perhaps, is the absurd and inane rationalized within a rational structure? All subjects construct an object in the way they understand it, and the objects in these spaces are repositioned for a particular narrative.

In the exhibition, instead of trying to play it as decent as possible, the artist goes to its opposite, to reinforce the sense of alienation in an occasion that seems harmonious and orderly. The conflict, the discord, the prying is another kind of reality. Just as public art intervenes in the field in a way that weakens the contradiction, in a fusion of glorification or in a choice that Richard Serra supports to break the harmony, the deliberate order sometimes serves to conceal the truth of disorder and chaos.

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Weaving the life, 2021

Hangzhou Low Carbon Museum, Hangzhou 

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Mind the Gap, 2020

Seeyoo Space, Hangzhou 

This exhibition was held just after the most severe time of the pandemic when we might feel isolated or secluded from others. This special period is also a time for artists and art amateurs to meditate on this moment and themselves. The relationship between society, humanity, and spiritual need may be considered repetitively during this gap.
It was the main reason why the exhibition was hosted. Actually, everyone was likely to be in a situation of living in the gap from time to time. Different issues happen daily,
some came as surprises and others as accidents. It was inevitable for us to learn how to adapt to the gap, which had many definitions. I chose artworks of wholly distinctive features to show diversity.
In addition, “mind the gap” is the reminder sound at underground stations, which asked passengers to pay attention to the gap between the platform and the track which was a contemporary fable. It reminded us to think in alternative ways and gaze at the world again and again.

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Honey and Arsenic-the solo show of Shi Wen, 2020

Seeyoo Space, Hangzhou   

The works in this exhibition represent two very different uses of color, and the gallery is thus divided into two sections. On the left-hand wall, there are six small, richly colored, and textured canvases and an exquisite Tempera. On the right-hand side, the gallery is divided into two walls: on the left side, there are six small, richly colored, and textured paintings and a delicate Tempera; on the right side, there are cool, sharply colored paintings and drawings. The two works on the main wall in the center serve as a transitional link. A group of sculptures in the center of the exhibition hall echoes the paintings and breaks up the space. The curators and the artist have skillfully used the spatial structure of the exhibition hall to manage the location. The space is absorbed as part of the work, reflecting the interplay between the painting and the space. It is also worth mentioning that the artist has painted a huge mural on the exterior wall of the exhibition hall to support the exhibition. The large mural painted on the outer wall of the exhibition hall will serve as a clue to the interpretation of her works.

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A Bunch of Art, 2020

Xima Gallery, Hangzhou      

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Unknown Vectors: Youth Sculptor Group Exhibition, 2019

Tongchang, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou

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Host, Cloud Whispers: Space, Data and Panoramic Exposure, 2022

Online Forum

Curatorial guest, Turning the Heart Inward: Artistic Therapies from the Depths of the Metaverse, 2022

Online forum

Symposium guest, the Unknown Vector  Forum: Can't walk in or out, 2021

Sanshang Contemporary Art, Hangzhou, China

Sunlight Peace Art Exhibition, 2021

Miyun Sunshine Valley, Beijing, China

China Academy of Art Group in Carrara International Sculpture Camp, 2019 

Carrara, Italy                   

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