Xiao Zong : Metamorphic Ecosphere

Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing presents Metamorphic Ecosphere, the second exhibition of Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech 2023, curated by ZONG Xiao.

The Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech is an annual prize recognizing and supporting emerging curators in China and committed to fostering innovative and critical exploration of major contemporary issues. As its theme for 2023, “Decentralized Reworlding” encourages curators to investigate the complexity of the social system and rethink the current boundaries of our social norms and human territories in terms of envisioning the possibilities of reshaping the world. Metamorphic Ecosphere proposes “metamorphosis” as a methodology for humankind’s introspection, analysis of the economic and ecological structures in which we find ourselves, and examination of the inequalities that manifest through “voluntary” and “forced” metamorphoses.

The exhibition is developed based on the following premise：“Perhaps only through conceiving and welcoming the metamorphoses of our bodies, living spaces, and ecosystems can we truly embrace the ‘encroachment’ of other species and substances—and, in turn, stride towards a decentralized world.” The exhibition collaborates with ten emerging groups of artists to explore and experiment on this topic through various mediums. The theme is investigated through two aspects: “voluntary” and “forced” metamorphoses. As a mechanism for survival, voluntary metamorphoses test our tolerance for the transmutations of our bodies and draw attention to the possibilities of co-existing or even co-evolving with “invasive” species. Forced metamorphoses focus on the alteration of the planet’s metabolism as a result of technological progress and encourage reflection on the profound impact human activities have inflicted upon the environment.

“Under the theme of the Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech 2023, ‘Decentralized Reworlding,’ Metamorphic Ecosphere proposes metamorphosis as a crucial aspect of a decentralized ecosystem,” stated DooEun Choi, the art director of Hyundai Motor. “The exhibition will encourage the creative and critical processes of reimagining our world in order to reflect on our shared planetary concerns for a better future.”

The curator, ZONG Xiao, stated, “The advancement of technologies has drastically altered the planet’s metabolism, and the resulting metamorphoses of nonhuman agents constantly remind us of the cruelty and inequality of industrialization and technological development. Metamorphic Ecosphere encourages viewers to reconsider such metamorphoses and reflect on our relationships to technologies, as such reflections may be prerequisites for the creation of alternative social and ecological orders.”

Participating artists: Shuyi Cao, Shengjie Dai, JUJUWANG, Sustainable Platform (Liang Xiao, Yizhen Gan, Shengxu Jin, Jiayang Huang, Jingzhe Wang), CryptoZR, Wing Po So, Sicheng Wang, Ziyang Wu & Mark Ramos, Liang Xiao & Yizhen Gan, Yiming Yang.

About the curator
Xiao Zong, graduated from the School of Visual Arts and obtained a Master’s Degree in Curatorial Practice. Zong has curated several exhibitions, including Narratives, Stories, Algorithms: Rethinking Independence in Digital Times, 2022, at the Pfizer Building, Brooklyn, New York, and LovingHatingLand, 2021, at the SVA Gallery, New York. She is a curator currently based in Shanghai.

Launched by Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing in 2017, The Hyundai Blue Prize has explored “Social Mobility” (2018), “Future Humanity” (2019), “Social Intelligence” (2020), “Resonant Cities” (2021), “Disruptive Future” (2022), and “Decentralized Re-Worlding” (2023). Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech has recognized and supported emerging curators in China, fostering innovative and critical exploration of major contemporary issues. 

Hyundai Motorstudios are brand experience spaces that reflect the company’s artistic spirit and experimental approach to art, design, and technology. This is where “motor”, a word used in the automobile industry, and “studio”, a word used to describe a space for contemplation and creation, meet in a manner accessible to the public.