Unzipping the future

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Wu says the black-and-white box is an independent piece of work and the largest one on show, rather than a place for display.

Nine video-and-audio works, including one by Wu and his UFO Media Lab, are projected in rotation on the white walls and the ground. And visitors can relax in the space: they can lean against the walls, sit and even lie on the ground, while being surrounded by the moving images, as if they are entering the minds of the works' creators.

"Everybody now lives with certain formats, and they have reshaped how people think and act," says Wu. "Maybe in the future, people will greet each other by asking, 'What's your format?'"

The exhibition is part of Today Art Museum's project "Future of Today", and it was launched in 2015.

Now, as people access artworks and exhibitions by virtual means, "Future of Today" aims to use diverse approaches to give art lovers experiences that are unique to a specific location.

The museum's inaugural exhibition in 2015 showcased artworks through technologies such as computer-meditated reality, and the artists featured included Chinese sculptor Sui Jianguo, newmedia artist Miao Xiaochun and Suzanne Anker, a New York-based visual artist.

Gao Peng, the director of Today Art Museum, says: "The project is bold and risky."

Gao says that when he took the directorship of the museum in 2013, two questions kept emerging in his mind－what will a future art museum look like and what artworks will suit such a museum.

"I haven't come to a conclusion yet. But we will keep seeking answers.

"We are now on an extraordinary journey－to build a museum of the future."

Contact the writer at linqi@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

10 am-6 pm, closed on Monday, through Sept 16. 32 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5876-0600.