Li Wei — Photographies géantes en plein air — Le Parc de la Villette — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: March 20 → August 19, 2012

Born in Hubei Province in 1970 and now based in Beijing, Li Wei, one of the most influential artists in his country, belongs to that generation of Chinese performers who, through their inventiveness and caustic spirit, have touched the hearts and minds of the Western world.

True to certain of his native cultural values, particularly the link between mankind and the environment, Li Wei has proved himself a shrewd observer of contemporary mores, both in China and abroad. He demonstrates this in his creations and his risk-taking performances that give rise to images which he then revisits digitally.

With the photographs in this exhibition, we bear witness to the reincarnations of a character who is free from the usual conventions and the ensuing, staid points of view. Playing with gravity and weightlessness, Li Wei provides us with a curious reminder of our own desires and our dreams to escape our everyday lives, alongside the ever-present anxiety of seeing ourselves stripped of them.

Haunted, loving, victorious or defeated, alone or with acolytes, the artist gives his photography free rein to offer a collection of situations that are both humorous and critical, paving the way to the unexpected and the wondrous.

A farcical world of breathtaking icons with universal reach, that are firmly embedded in our modern world.