Idolizing celebrities has been part of the growing up process. Through mass media, images of the stars have been seen by public. Their unique qualities have somehow led the public opinion or even spiritual guidance. In a manner of speaking, in some eyes of the public, celebrities are not only just stars, but a standard or symbol.
In this exhibition, there are many well-known celebrity imageries which show beauty, distinctiveness and positive forms. And through time, the imageries have become spiritual symbols. Two artists, Yiqing Zhu and Yongjun Xue deconstruct those imageries and symbols and take them apart piece by piece; the artists turn those pieces into codes which look like Chinese characters and reconstruct those codes back to the imageries of the celebrities again. The artists try to explore the idea of mass culture and how the public translate it. Through the works, audiences would be able to “see” the stars that influence us.
“Stars” are like lighthouse that leads us to hope, longing and admiration. And in the exhibition, the audiences can admire those stars afar and up close. |