Group Exhibition Tsinghua UniversityArt Museum
Exhibition Period: 22 August – 28 October 2025
Exhibition Venue: 3rd Floor Exhibition Hall, Tsinghua University Art Museum
What is nature? How can humans coexist with it? Especially in the current era of rapid development in biotechnology and artificial intelligence, and amid frequent global ecological crises, nature cannot be viewed merely as scenery for humans to admire or resources for humans to exploit. Instead, it is a coexisting entity that humans must treat as an equal. We can no longer observe nature from the perspective of bystanders; instead, we must redefine the relationship between nature and humans as an integral part of the interconnected web of relationships.
Philosophers throughout history and across cultures have put forward related ideas. For example, Zhuangzi's “Unity of Heaven and Humanity” emphasizes that humans should conform to the laws of nature rather than oppose them. Michel Serres' “Natural Contract” argues that after the social contract, we also need to establish a contract with nature. Like the Philosophy of Ecological Civilization, these ideas hold that humans and nature should be one, forming a symbiotic and reciprocal relationship. This exhibition is based on this line of thinking, attempting to explore the complex relationships between humans, technology, media, and nature within the framework of the “natural contract.” Seven artists from diverse cultural backgrounds—Lynn Hershman Leeson, Liang Shaoji, Melati Suryodarmo, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Robert Zhao Renhui, Cao Shu, and Yin Yunya—contribute a total of 18 works or installations that form the parallel narrative threads of the exhibition. The works encompass installation, bio-media, video, and artificial intelligence, presenting the multifaceted aspects of nature in the contemporary art context: it is both material and concept; it is both other and mirror image. The exhibition also seeks to construct a multi-layered perceptual network, responding to the increasingly tense yet deeply intertwined relationship between nature, technology, and humans. Each artist's work serves as a thread, intertwining across different dimensions. They not only narrate nature but also expand the boundaries of artistic media; they not only respond to the times but also question human existence. Through their works, we can rethink our relationship with nature—between light and shadow, between senses and technology, and between memory and the future.
The “natural contract” signifies a redefining of the relationship between humans and nature. From the classical ideas of “nature loves to hide” and “unity between heaven and humanity” in antiquity, to modern science viewing nature as an object that can be measured and conquered, the relationship between humans and nature has been constantly undergoing reconstruction. Today, through art, we are able to transcend species boundaries and reimagine a new future of symbiotic and reciprocal relationship between humans and media, technology and nature.
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