CHEN ZHOU – BLUE HOLE
2018-07-16Projected in four-channel HD digital, it features a female protagonist lost inside a blue cave, her mobile phone providing the only connection to the outside world. Two other young girls search for a friend lost in a forest, while they discuss the loneliness they experience in the virtual world. Their search stirs up childhood memories, taking them back to an earlier time when, although their paths had crossed, they had been unable to recognise each other’s faces.
Blue Hole describes a world where we are all connected and disconnected at the same time, exposing how the small space between the real and the virtual world remains the only place where alienation can be kept at bay. The ubiquitous social media network is mistakenly seen as a haven within our reach, our phones a ‘hole’ that beckon with the faint glow of a blue light. Chen suggests that beneath our modern exterior we are all simply restless, isolated souls attempting to express our feelings and signaling for help via electronic gadgets. Blue Hole draws inspiration from social media platforms, in particular a public WeChat account that the artist came across which records the dreams and thoughts of a Millennial teenage girl.
Opposite – Installation view
Exhibition runs through to August 25th, 2018
Matthew Marks Gallery
1062 North Orange Grove
90046 Los Angeles
USA
