Li Hui Is An "Archeologist Of The Future"

Our Creator Li Hui has been making quite a splash on the Asian arts circuit this year. His first retrospective show, “Uncertain Truth,” opened in Taipei this April, showcasing a number of remarkable works that synthesize this young multimedia artist’s journey over the course of the last five years. This week, a new solo show of his work entitled simply, “V,” comes to the Beijing 798 art district (curated by Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, where this year’s The Creators Project Beijing event will be held).

Li’s signature light sculptures make use of a wide array of multimedia materials—from acrylic to fog machines to car parts—all re-imagined through the lens of technology. Walking through the exhibition hall, the space immerses you in Li’s futuristic world, and yet a sense of timelessness pervades as Li explores topics and questions that have fascinated mankind since the beginning of time—the relationship between life and death, existence and transcendence, materiality and spirituality. No wonder the director of UCCA, Jérôme Sans, refers to Li as “more an archeologist of the future than a spiritual shaman.” Not so expressive with words, Li Hui rather communicates with the viewers by creating three dimensional spaces filled with colliding energies.

Li says in an interview:
“In my work, I have used materials such as transparent hard acrylic, fog, lasers and LEDs. These materials are unique in their own right, but when they are used in a specific way or in a special set of circumstances, they allow the works to better communicate with people, and the effect can be a hundred or a thousand times as powerful as the materials themselves.”

Image Courtesy of UCCA