The first solo show in the United Kingdom by this emerging Chinese artist


Since the 1950s scientists have been speculating about the existence of wormholes; imaginary bridges and shortcuts through time and space that support the possibility of time travel. This cosmic notion of wormholes resonates with the artist’s ongoing skeptical explorations of the social power of mass media, his interest in obsolete technology and the aesthetics of the discarded. His practice involves post-conceptual installations, photography, and video often employing humorous and pseudo-spectacular tactics to interrogate the relationship between body, experience, and cognition.

As part of Wormholes five recent works by Wang Yuyang have been selected and recreated as site-specific public commissions for the artspace and added to the Horsecross Arts Collection of Contemporary Art. Five of the works are showing in the UK for the first time.

Speak (2010) / 58min 27sec loop + object installation

Take this journey back to the bygone era of audio tape manufacturing to find out how an audio tape is born. Imagine the recording equipment being used while taking an audio tour through the factory. See the playback deck in action and listen to the story ‘narrated’ through the abstract sounds of the whole process of making an audio tape.

Artificial Moon (2007) / lightart installation

A giant Chinese lantern or a festive bauble with a contemporary poetic twist. Suspended under the copper-clad dome this sculpture sits at the heart of the Threshold artspace. It takes over 10,000 light bulbs and almost as many minutes and hands to get them clustered around the custom-made steel globe. Is this a celebration of the soon ubiquitous green technology of the energy-saving light or a reminder that the visibility of the real Moon often retreats behind the radiance of a brightly illuminated urban sky. When the Moon has been commodified and placed within touching distance, all the existing cosmic metaphors from the ancient poems blend into an environment of pulsing light. Gaze in and be dazzled. Lose sight of everything for a moment.

This work won Yuyang the prestigious Transmediale Global Artist Award 2010 Nomination. An exclusive edition has been acquired for the permanent Horsecross Arts collection of contemporary art.

Showing at Gannochy Auditorium, Perth Concert Hall 26 November- 1 December 2010 as part of Lightnight Perth: the spectacular light trail across Perth as the finale of year long celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Burgh Charter to Perth by King William the Lion in 1210. Thereafter, the work is showing at the Threshold Dome, Perth Concert Hall.

The Moon Landing Programme (2007) / 1min 18sec loop

By juxtaposing two scenes—one authentic and the other a re-make—this work critiques the spectacular and theatrical elements of historical memory while exposing the inner workings of media preservation. Showing side by side on the 22 screens, the scenes blend in, making it difficult to tell the artist’s own meticulous re-construction of the dramatic Moon landing from the original live video transmission of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the surface of the Moon on 21 July 1969. An estimated 500 million people worldwide watched this event, the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time. The work starts off by questioning the concept of ‘image,’ and follows on by casting doubt on science, history and politics.

Dust Is Dust (2007) / 3min 37sec loop

This work presents real footage from an electronic microscope of dust particles, which are beyond the limit of the naked eyes. ‘The invisible dimly exists, while the visible might not be real;’ says the artist. Our human experience of seeing amplified stars and dust is much the same. Stars provide us with the macro view of the world and dust is its micro counterpart.

Electricity (2007) / 55min 50sec loop + object installation at various artspace locations

In an attempt to encapsulate ‘the energy of consciousness’ the artist has employed the laws of medicine and physics. The alternating current produced by the brain thinking about an impossible proposal is converted to direct current and saved into a battery. Thus a normal battery becomes full of the energy of consciousness. Not only can it be used normally as a battery, but also as a source for the imagination. The process of Consciousness has thereby been sealed inside, and even though it cannot be seen or read, it exists all the same.

“Perth’s Threshold artspace shows no signs of watering down its bold remit in programming stunning and inspiring artwork”

Iliyana Nedkova