liu wei’s ‘nudità’ envisions sculptural bodies within the endangered urban landscape

a hybrid visual and cognitive language suggest at once a remote antiquity and a pre-existent future.

kat barandy August 18, 2021 2 min

a form-finding investigation driven by the state of the contemporary world, liu wei‘s ‘nudità’ exhibition presents at white cube gallery in london. the artist expresses influence from italian philosopher giorgio agamben — the show takes its name from his series of short essays — and through sculptural form, investigates the global emergency engendered by the pandemic at this pivotal moment in history. the artist asks: ‘given the current condition of the world, what possibilities might exist for human beings to live together as a collective body?’ driven by this question, liu connects agamben’s theories of ‘nudity’ to the emptied state of the current urban context and our increased physical distance from one another.

liu wei nudità
installation view, © liu wei | photo © white cube (ollie hammick)

in sculpting the works of nudità, liu wei identifies this era as one of transformation. our general perceptions and modes of being are in flux, we have seen deserted streets and empty buildings. liu wei asks whether public squares have lost their function as places of gathering. rather, have these sites become instead ‘a series of objects/patterns/intermediaries between the abstract and the concrete?’ such reflections take shape as an installation which evokes civic ruins — columns, pedestals, and roadblocks are amassed together, and populated by scattered animals. cast in fibreglass and painted in neutral, grey car paint, the installation becomes mimetic — echoing the historical, classical, and monumental, as if each element has been carved out of massive granite blocks.

liu wei nudità
installation view, © liu wei | photo © white cube (ollie hammick)

the nudità forms by liu wei employ a hybrid visual and cognitive language to suggest at once a remote antiquity and a pre-existent future. the exhibition is currently on view at london’s white cube bermondsey gallery from july 9th until september 5th, 2021.

liu wei nudità
installation view, © liu wei | photo © white cube (ollie hammick)

liu wei's 'nudità' envisions sculptural bodies within the endangered urban landscape - 1
installation view, © liu wei | photo © white cube (ollie hammick)

liu wei's 'nudità' envisions sculptural bodies within the endangered urban landscape - 2
installation view, © liu wei | photo © white cube (ollie hammick)

project info:

exhibition: nudità

artist: liu wei

location: white cube, london | @whitecube