Beijing: National Art Museum of China

July 27th — August 17th, 2011, National Art Museum of Chia, Bei­jing, http://mediartchina.org

Amidst the global challenges of climate and ecological crises that threaten the very existence of humanity, the exhibition TransLife reflects on the whereabouts of humankind in relationship to nature through an unique perspective and philosophical speculation, calling for citizen participation in facing these imminent challenges with artistic imagination to advocate a new world view of nature and a retooled humanist proposition.

The exhibition is structured by three thematically related components that gradually progress from the discovery of new sensorial potentials that extend our cognitive capacities to the emergence of multiple life forms to biodiversity and an exploration of the symbiosis of cohabitation, revealing emerging concepts of life and provoking contemplation on the biosphere. In doing so, the exhibition also strives to reassess the historical roots and epistemological foundation of the current ecological and environmental predicament, interrogating the notion of subjectivity inherent in the project of modernity and the anthropocentrism derived from that tradition.

The 300 page plus exhibition catalogue consists of a collection of scholarly texts contributed by world-renowned authors (Bruno Latour, Arjen Mulder, Chris Salter, Peter Sloterdijk, Eugene Thacker, and a curatorial text by ZHANG Ga) to elaborate on the exhibition’s themes and their philosophical ramifications, along with color illustrations of works in the exhibition. The catalogue will be co-published by NAMOC, The Liverpool University Press and the Foundation for Art and Creative Technologies in UK and distributed globally.