2017.06.24 - 07.09

Curator: Wang Jiang

 Moshang Experimental Art Space

798 Art District, Beijing

“There are two ways by which the spirit of a culture may be shriveled. In the first—the Orwellian—culture becomes a prison. In the second—the Huxleyan—culture becomes a burlesque.”

                               — Neil Postman

This is an era of transformation. Advances in technology, institutional reforms, and the awakening of individual consciousness permeate every corner of life. Material prosperity has become commonplace, yet every individual constantly faces physical and mental struggles, leaving uncertainty as a normal state of life. Ordinary people long for relaxation and pleasure. 

TenGuSan emerged as a product of this age. Working with instant film photography, he builds up his personal identity through unique symbolic language. He expresses the confusion of individuals amid massive social shifts with playful, rebellious imagery. 

His work captures vivid, multi-dimensional young women resisting patriarchal society and awakening to selfhood. The invisible boundary between public and private spheres dissolves entirely, continuously redefining the inner boundaries of every viewer.

He stands as an artistic symbol of entertainment saturating mainstream culture. Artists shaped by the internet age are an undeniable feature of today’s social landscape. While people strive for freedom of expression, their personal outpourings devolve into a pursuit of amusement. The curtain rises, and everyone becomes a performer, entertaining either themselves or others. TenGuSan exists right in the middle of this fast-shifting whirlpool. 

He channels his emotions through a stylized personal brand while maintaining sober self-reflection. In his exhibition Horny Night, he breaks free from his usual instant-photography approach and adopts diverse cross-media forms to deliver multi-layered introspection. 

From all perspectives, his work lays bare the unique problems of this era, and reaffirms his philosophy of indulgent living with powerful artistic intervention.

A child of this internet-driven entertainment age, he creates art while simultaneously turning himself into part of the artwork.

Curator: Wang Jiang