Pékin Fine Arts is pleased to present the solo exhibition by Liu Di (b. 1985 Shanxi Province), the first prize winner, among 80 international photographers, of the prestigious Lacoste Elysée Prize 2010, dedicated to young photographers, and given in partnership with the Musée de l’Elysée (Lausanne, Switzerland).

His first solo exhibition in Beijing débuts two new 3D animation videos, “The Weight of Oneself” (2017), and “A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion” (2017), alongside recent photo works.

Liu Di’s work with 3D digital video and related techniques focuses on themes long pursued in his photo works; namely, critiquing the conflicting relationship between nature and human society. Abnormal growth underlies Liu Di’s work, as inevitable by-products of hyper-fast economies fueled by widespread urbanization.

With subtle humour and science fiction-like stylizing, the artist still manages to pay homage to traditional landscape photography and nature photography. His subjects “pose” in peculiar visions of a sci-fi-meets-magical-realism world where nothing and no one is entirely normal or healthy. Wierdly cute in their otherworldly and distorted forms, animals and humans float in an unreal realm, amidst familiar urban landscapes, of monumental buildings, public housing, run-down courtyards, bath houses, and parks of the imagination.

The artist argues, “We wake up and regain alertness only after stereotypes are broken down”. “The appearance of huge animals points to the unreliability of common sense, showing the flaws in how we perceive the world.” “With a new awareness of our incomplete understanding of objective reality, we begin to doubt the narrow and limited subjective world. Only at this moment, can we get closer to what is real, and perceive the more lasting and valuable things beyond the trivialities of daily life.”

About the exhibition

Dates: 4 March – 29 April, 2017

Venue: Pékin Fine Arts

Courtesy of the artist and Pékin Fine Arts, for further information please visit http://pekinfinearts.com.