Zhong Wei - Weight Drifting

de sarthe

In his solo exhibition Weight Drifting, Zhong Wei continues to explore the evolution of contemporary socio-technological landscape and its unchecked fostering of transhumanism.

The exhibited artworks initiate a dialogue regarding the invisible shift in power dynamics between man and machine, consequential to the advancement of artificial intelligence but also the atrophy of manual effort enabled by accelerationist technology. Under the brush of Zhong Wei, the metamorphoses of digital textures into organic entities appear as if a study of living subjects and specimens.

The term ‘weight’ bears a specific meaning in the world of artificial intelligence (AI), referring to the importance given to an input and its correlated influence on the output – in essence, the basis on which AI builds its identification and judgment. Under a social context, ‘weight’ can be used to describe the extent of power or authority that certain individuals or parties may have over others and the decision-making process at-large. These invisible systems, though similar in logic and operation, seemingly exist in parallel in two different worlds, but Zhong Wei asks: “What about the weight between man and technology?”

在他的個展「權重漂移」（Weight Drifting）中，鍾慰持續他對當代社會科技景觀並其對如今超人類 主義（transhumanism）肆意助長的探索。展覽引發有關人與機器之間權力關係無形轉變的對話— —這種轉變既是人工智能的進步成果，也是加速主義所導致體力萎縮的後果。數位紋理在鍾慰的筆下 蛻變為有機實體，彷彿是對生命主體及標本的研究。 「權重」（Weight）一詞在人工智慧領域有其特定含義，指的是輸入的重要性及其對於輸出的相關 影響——這本質上是人工智慧進行識別和判斷的基礎。在社會背景下，「權重」可用於描述某些個人 或多方對其他人以及整個決策過程中的權力或權威程度。這些無形的系統雖然在邏輯與操作上相似， 但看似平行地存在於兩個截然不同的世界，鍾慰不經發問：「人與科技之間的權重是怎樣的？」

Automation and its increasingly prominent role in the development of social ecology has become plain to see as it inserts itself into almost every aspect of life. However, to what event does humanity still retain significance in the advancement of technology? Surrounded by the anarchic pandemonium that Zhong Wei portrays, the answer might perhaps be “little to none.”

From his large-scale artworks up to 3.5 meters in length to his array of smaller sized canvases, Zhong Wei’s maximalist, visceral, and unapologetic visual language speaks to unbated intensity at which technology operates. Layering a multitude of digital textures and motifs, his painted imagery resembles living and growing amorphous creatures that walk among a disorienting and pixelated world. Dwarfed afront his artworks, the experience is as if visiting a science museum of unnatural history, with exhibits evocative of both awe and anxiety.

自動化及其在社會生態發展中日益突出的角色已幾乎滲透到生活的各個層面。 然而，人類在科技進步的 過程中究竟還能保留怎樣的意義呢？ 在鍾慰所描繪的混亂下，答案也許是 「幾乎沒有」。 從長達 3.5 公 尺的大尺幅作品到一系列小尺幅的繪畫，鍾慰以極致、直覺性而又直白的視覺語言訴說科技運作的無節 製的力量。 他的繪畫作品將大量數字紋理和圖案層層疊加，如同一個鮮活且不斷生長的無定形生物，行 走在令人迷失方向的像素化世界中。 觀者們在他的作品面前感到渺小，彷彿參觀非自然歷史的科學博物 館般，其中展品讓人既敬畏而又倍感焦慮。

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 Two People Face-to-Face 《對向雙人圖》 2023 Acrylic on canvas 布面壓克力 210 x 355 cm

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 Two People Back-to-Back 《反向雙人圖》 2023 Acrylic on canvas 布面壓克力 200 x 350 cm

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 A Person In a Vehicle 《行車單人圖》 2023 Acrylic on canvas 布面壓克力 200 x 230 cm

Within the exhibition, a disorganized array of texts and imageries are mounted on a singular wall, reminiscent of an investigation board. Titled Cover with a Shell (2023), Zhong Wei’s installation artwork comprises a scattered documentation of his thoughts on AI in art. Mixed within the materials are images he created using AI amalgamations of past works as well as several short stories he wrote through an AI program. UV-printed on irregular sheets of PVC, Zhong Wei’s observations are presented either in the form of a user review or as part of a conversation transcript between the artist and an AI chat-bot. Within this fragmented manifesto, he examines the utilitarian applications of technology in art and questions the point in practice at which AI would finally outweigh the artist. Reflecting on the capabilities of technology against the criteria of art and being an artist, Zhong Wei speculates a near future – or perhaps present – in which any trace of the human artist will be wiped clear, for better or for worse. 展覽中，一系列雜亂無章的文字及畫作排列於一單面墻上，讓人聯想到調查時使用的圖板。 鍾慰的裝置 作品題為 「套殼」（2023），零散地記錄了他對藝術中人工智慧的思考。 材料中夾雜著他用人工智慧 合成的過往作品的圖像，以及他透過人工智慧程式所撰寫的幾個小故事。 鍾慰的觀察透過UV 印刷在不 規則的 PVC上，以用戶評論或藝術家與人工智慧聊天機器人對話記錄的形式呈現。 在這支離破碎的宣言 中，他審視了科技在藝術中的功利性應用，並質疑人工智慧在實踐中最終會在哪一點上超越人類藝術家 。 鍾慰根據藝術以及對於藝術家的標準反思科技的威力，推測在不久的將來，又或是現在——無論好壞 與否，人類藝術家的痕跡終將將被清除。

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 Cover with a Shell 《套殼》 2023 UV print on PVC 聚氯乙烯樹脂UV打印 Dimensions Variable 尺寸可變

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 A Person in the Calligraphic Form of 'Sè' 《單人書「色」》 2023 Acrylic on canvas 布面壓克力 110 x 90 cm

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 A Person in the Calligraphic Form of 'Shi' 《單人書「食」》 2023 Acrylic on canvas 布面壓克力 110 x 90 cm

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 A Person in the Calligraphic Form of 'Xiǎng' 《單人書「想」》 2023 Acrylic on canvas 布面壓克力 110 x 90 cm

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 A Person in the Calligraphic Form of 'Shēn' 《單人書「身」》 2023 Acrylic on canvas 布面壓克力 110 x 90 cm

Zhong Wei 鍾慰 Hello World 20230707《我在 20230707》 2023 Giclee and acrylic on canvas 布面噴繪和壓克力 120 x 90 cm

Zhong Wei (b. 1987 in Beijing, China) works on canvas are windows into contemporary culture’s most dominating technological accomplishment: The Internet. Having compiled a massive database of memes and imagery found online, Zhong uses these ubiquitous images as raw material for his work and constructs fleeting snapshots of this rapidly evolving matrix. Fundamental to Zhong Wei’s practice is a concept he refers to as “coupling,” an idea that the endless flow of information on the Internet generates random pairings, each catalysing innumerable more possibilities. For many, the unpredictable nature of the online universe acts as an escape hatch from the monotony of real life. As the rabbit hole deepens with each click, the Internet becomes an entire alternate world parallel to physical reality – a boundless dimension in which one is free to be whom they want, unshackled by the chains of real life.

Zhong Wei’s artworks have been exhibited in Asia and Europe, most recently in: Weight Drifting, DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China (2023); Invalid Order Signature, Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK (2023); Stress Response, Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK (2021); 省電模式 ［■□□□］· phone died, DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China (2020); Void Loop, Plate Space, Beijing, China (2020); When Mythology Jumps into Economy: A Big Splash of Ecology, Plate Space x postpost, Beijing, China (2020); Illusive Particles, MadeIn Gallery, Shanghai, China (2020); Contemporary Show Off, DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China (2020); and 易变 ░ 耦态 °∶Nёメㄒ 乚ěVéし, DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China (2019).

鍾慰（1987 年生於中國北京） 的作品是當代文化最主要的技術成就：互聯網的窗口。 鍾慰從網路上找到的大量迷 因、圖片及影片中獲取圖像，解構數字文化的紋理，再將碎片重新激活為想像之中的風景、人物及實體，並將該 藝術實踐稱之為 「耦合」(coupling)。 他的作品探索社群媒體改變人們對於世界的體驗的各類方式，例如瀏覽 Instagram 及微信如何形成意想之外的圖像組合等。 對許多人來說，網絡世界不可預測的本質充當了逃離單調的現 實生活的出口。 隨著兔子洞隨著每一次點擊而加深，互聯網變成了一個平行於物理現實的整個替代世界——在這 個無限維度中，人們可以自由地做自己想做的，不受現實生活鎖鏈的束縛。 鍾慰的作品曾於亞洲和歐洲展出，近期展覽包括：「權重漂移」，德薩畫廊，香港，中國（2023）；「Invalid Order Signature」， Jack Bell Gallery，倫敦，英國（2023）；「應激反應」，Jack Bell Gallery，倫敦，英國（ 2021）； 「省電模式［■□□□］· phone died 」，德薩畫廊，香港，中國（2020）；「循在變量」，盤子空 間 ，北京，中國（2020）；「八仙下海」，盤子空間x postpost，北京， 中國（2020）；「幻象顆粒」，沒頂畫

廊，上海，中國（2020）；「炫耀當代」，德薩畫廊， 香港， 中國（2020）；以及「易變░ 耦態°∶Nёメㄒ乚ěVé し」，德薩畫廊，香港，中國（2019）。

Zhong Wei

b. 1987 born in Beijing, China; Currently works and lives in Beijing.

2007

North China University of Technology Academy of Art and Design (dropped out)

Solo Exhibitions 2023

Weight Drifting, DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China Invalid Order Signature, Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2021

Stress Response, Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2020

Void Loop, Plate Space, Beijing, China

2019

省電模式［■□□□］ ·phone died, de Sarthe, Hong Kong, China

易变 ░ 耦态°∶Nёメㄒ 乚ěVéし, DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China

Group Exhibitions 2023

Jack Bell Gallery, The Armory Show, New York, USA Perceptible Escapisms, DE SARTHE, Taipei Dangdai, Taipei Perceptible Escapisms, DE SARTHE, Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China DE SARTHE, ART SG, Singapore

2022

DE SARTHE, Digital Art Fair, Hong Kong, China DE SARTHE, Asia Now, Paris, France DE SARTHE, Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

2021

DE SARTHE, ART021, Shanghai, China DE SARTHE, Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel, Hong Kong, China

2020

When Mythology Jumps Into Economy: A Big Spash of Ecology, Plate Space x postpost, Beijing, China Illusive Particles, MadeIn Gallery, Shanghai, China Contemporary Show Off, DE SARTHE, Hong Kong, China

Public Collections JPMorgan Chase Collection, USA UBS Art Collection, Asia Divide By Zero Collection, Hong Kong, China Museum MACAN Jakarta, Indonesia Dries van Noten, China Private Collection Uli Sigg Collection, Switzerland

Collaborations 2021Autumn/Winter series, A.A. Spectrum Artist Series, ZHONG WEI x J.LINDEBERG

鍾慰

1987出生於中國北京，現工作與生活於北京。 2007 個展 2023 2021 2020 2019 群展 2023

2022

2021 2020

北方工業大學，藝術設計系（退學）

「權重漂移」，德薩畫廊，香港，中國 「Invalid Order Signature」，Jack Bell Gallery，倫敦，英國 「應激反應」，Jack Bell Gallery，倫敦，英國 「省電模式［■□□□］· phone died 」，德薩畫廊，香港，中國 「循在變量」，盤子空間，北京，中國 「易變░ 耦態°∶Nёメㄒ乚ěVéし」，德薩畫廊，香港，中國

Jack Bell Gallery，紐約軍械庫藝術博覽會，紐約，美國 「Perceptible Escapisms」，德薩畫廊，台北當代藝術博覽會，台北 「Perceptible Escapisms」，德薩畫廊，巴塞爾藝術展香港展會，香港，中國 德薩畫廊，ART SG，新加坡 德薩畫廊，Digital Art Fair，香港，中國 德薩畫廊，Asia Now，巴黎，法國 德薩畫廊，巴塞爾藝術展香港展會，香港，中國 德薩畫廊，ART021，上海，中國 德薩畫廊，藝薈香港 — 由巴塞爾藝術展呈獻，香港，中國 「八仙下海」，盤子空間 x postpost，北京， 中國 「幻象顆粒」，沒頂畫廊，上海，中國 「炫耀當代」，德薩畫廊，香港， 中國

公共收藏 摩根大通藝術收藏，美國 瑞銀藝術藏品，亞洲 Divide By Zero 收藏，香港，中國 努桑塔拉現代及當代美術館，印尼 Dries van Noten，中國 私人收藏 烏利希克收藏，瑞士 合作項目 2021 秋冬系列，A.A. Spectrum 光譜 藝術家系列，J.LINDEBERG x ZHONG WEI

7 Oct – 11 Nov 2023 Hong Kong

de sarthe 26/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong www.desarthe.com Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11am–7pm Tel: +852 2167 8896 Fax: +852 2167 8893 E-mail: hongkong@desarthe.com Texts: Zhong Wei and Allison Cheung

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means in whole or part, without prior written permission from the gallery and the artist.

版權所有。未經畫廊和藝術家的事先書面許可，不得以任何形式或手段全部或部分複製本出版物的任何部分。

E. hongkong@desarthe.com | T. +852 21678896 | W. www.desarthe.com 26/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong