MOUNTAIN ECHOES

1、MOUNTAIN ECHOESInthepastyear，themountainousLiangshanYiAutonomousPrefecturehasbeendeclareda“finalbattlegroundinthenationalcampaignagainstpoverty.Itsnewlybuiltroadsweretraverseddailybydozensofjournalistsfromaroundthecountry，reportinginspirationalnewsof“cliffvillagersmovingdownthemountainandintonewhome

2、s.YetforpeoplegrowingupinthisregionofsouthwesternSichuanprovince，themountainsarenotapoliticalbuzzword，butsimplyhome.Lastyear，MoxiZishi?inYiscript，MoseYiluo?，andShamaShizhe?，whoalsogoesbyMaJianlan，foundedtheplatform“EchoofLiangshan?intheirhometownofXichangtopromoteculturalexchangewithintheregion，andb

3、etweentheregionandtheoutsideworld.TheyarejoinedbyGuojiYixin?andJihuWuziHuYongmei?ascoreorganizers.UntilFebruary5，thecuratorialteamwillshowtheself-titledexhibition“EchoofLiangshaninBeijingsLaiiGallery，bringingtogether100piecesofphotography，painting，prints，sounddocumentary，andexperimentalvideodepictin

4、gLiangshanfromtheeyesof47ordinarypeopleintheregion，“insteadofmorechildrenwithdirtyfacesandrunnynosescommoninmainstreamportrayalsoftheregion，saysYiluo.CuratorsYiluo，Shizhe，andWuzispeaktoTWOCaboutgrowingupinaneraofrapidchangesinLiangshan，andwhattheyhopeartcandointhefaceofit.“Artisnotonlyaboutafeelingo

5、fbeauty，butanactofimaginationandcognition，saysShizhe.“AlthoughwearefromLiangshanandbelongtotheYinationality，wearefundamentallyallhumanbeings，andtheseinteractionscanformabridge.Noneoftheexhibitingartistsareprofessionalssomearestudents，homestayhosts，policeofficers，designers，andpoetsandneitherarethecur

6、ators：Yiluoisamastersstudentininternationaldevelopmentstudies，Shizheisalawyer，andWuziworksinfinance.Allthreearewomenborninthe1990swhohavewanderedfarfromtheirhometownsgeographically，butnotinspirit.“Intheend，wehopeandblessthelandthatbearsandnurturesus，saysWuzi，“anditisstillabundantandfullofhope.Howdid

7、theplatformandtheexhibitioncomeabout？Shizhe：WehadalwayshopedtherecouldbeaplatforminLiangshanforyoungpeoplelikeus，orpeoplewhoareinterestedinLiangshansculture，toshareandexchangeideas.Weusuallystudyandworkallaroundthecountry，butwhenwereturnedtoourhometownsduringthepandemic，wedidnthavesuchaplatform，sowe

8、wonderedifwecouldbuildone.TheplatformEchoofLiangshanwasofficiallyestablishedin2021.WeheldourfirsteventinAprilinXichang，asalononthethemeofmarriageandgender.Afterthat，weheldavintagebazaar，bookclub，moviescreenings，andevenacostumepartyourline-upcontinuedtogrowandevolve.Especiallyforthoseinourhometownwho

9、havethesameculturalbackgroundasus，butdonthaveresourcestoaccessmorecultures，wehopetogivethemtherighttochoosehowtheyshouldliveandthink.Then，whensomeofusgatheredbackinBeijingagain，wehopedwecouldbringEchoofLiangshanhere，sothateventhoseoutsideofLiangshancanfeelthechangesoccurringthere，andgiveusaplatformt

10、otellourstoriestotheoutsideworld.Yiluo：Ithinkourcurrentrolecanbeexpressedintwowords.Oneis“bridge.Ontheonehand，weareconnectedtoLiangshan;ontheother，weareconnectedtopeopleintheoutsideworldwhoareinterestedinLiangshan.Wecantransmitvoicesinbothdirections.Anotherroleis“catalystwewereverypleasedtoseethatth

11、ereweresome2，000youngpeoplewhoattendedourculturalevents;somehaveevenstartedtheirown.Avarietyoflocalyouthactivitieshavesprunguponeafteranother.Wehavesetinmotionaprocessforlocalyouthtoseemorepossibilities，andtopursuebeauty.Wuzi：TheideaofamplifyingthevoiceofLiangshanhasbeenbuddingineachofourheartsforma

12、nyyears.WehopetogivethepeopleofLiangshanawindowthroughwhichtounderstandtheworld;atthesametime，italsoallowspeopleoutsidetounderstandLiangshanmoreauthentically.WedontwanttobeautifyLiangshan，ortopackageitforviewers.Wehopethattheoutsideworldwillnolongerunderstandthislandfromaperspectiveof“otherness，butt

13、otrulyunderstandwhatishappeningonthislandandtothepeopleonit.Whatnarrativesareyouseekingtocomplicatewiththisexhibition？Yiluo：Inorganizingthisexhibition，ourcuratorialteamopenedanonlinesubmissionportalandreceived695worksfrom47contributors.Weweremetwithworksthatweresurprisingandmoving，setinmountainsandp

14、lainsaswellascities.Duetothemanybackgroundsrepresentedamongourcontributors，frompoetstopoliceofficers，theseworksshowtheirvariouslivingspaces，andreflecttheirperspectivesanddreams.Togethertheyformarchipelagos，orconstellationsemergingfromtheeyesofscatteredindividualsyetconnectedbyaregionalthread.Shizhe：

15、PublicattentiononLiangshanhasincreasedinrecentyears，yetmanyofthelabelsgiventousarerelatedtopovertyordrugs.Althoughthesephenomenaobjectivelyexist，Ifeelthatpovertyisnotonlymaterial;wearerichinspirituallife.TherearemanyYinationalitieslivinginLiangshan，aswellasHanpeople，andtherearemanyinterestingcollisi

16、onsofideas.Inthepastfewyears，moreandmorefriendsaroundmehavebecomedeterminedtoexpressourversionofselftogivevoicetoLiangshansdiversity，notjustimagesofdrugsorpoverty.Wuzi：ThepublicexposureofLiangshaninrecentyearsisanopportunityaswellasachallenge.Itdoubtlesslybringsinexternalresourcesthatdriveeconomicgr

17、owthandemployment.Whilethewell-beingofaplaceisinseparablefromtheeconomy，faithandcultureareequallyindispensable.Weneedtolookatthingsdialectically.Ifacultureistomaintainitsvitality，itneedstohavesometraditionaladherents.Thesepeoplemaybethefolkartists，craftsmen，elders，andwisepeoplescattereddeepinthemoun

18、tainsandfieldsofLiangshan.Butitalsoneedsyoungpeoplelikeusorevenyoungerpeoplewhohaveperhapsreceivedabettereducation，andcanlookattheoutsideworldfromadifferentperspective，inadditiontoourunderstandingsofourownculture.Theculturewillbepresentedmorevigorouslyandyouthfully，indifferentforms，ina“coolerway.The

19、ideasweupholdarethesame，butthewaywedothingsisdifferent.Weneedtorespectandsupportboth.HowhasLiangshanshapedyourperspectivesofyourselfandyourwork？Wuzi：Ithinkwehaveallgonethroughfourstagesregardingself-identity.ThefirststageisthelongprocessofgrowingupinLiangshan.Whenwelivedontheland，welivedandbreathedt

20、raditionalwaysofthinking，andwedidntthinkaboutourculturefromabirds-eyeview.Thesecondstageiswhenwepassedthecollegeentranceexam，movedfromLiangshantothemostmoderncitiesinChina，andenteredgooduniversities.JianlanandIcametoBeijingat18yearsold，andYiluowenttoShanghai.Weactuallyfeltalossatthistimewemayhavebee

21、neagertouseournationalityasalabelinordertofindasenseofsecurityinacompetitiveandunfamiliarenvironment.Andthenweenterthethirdstage，developinginourrespectivefields，wehavebuiltcontactwithandknowledgefromalloverthecountry，andeventheworld.Wewanttoprovethatwearegoodbecauseofourprofessionalability，notbecaus

22、eweareaminority.Wearenowinthefourthstage.Havinlivedandworkedoutsideformanyyears，webeginmoreconsciouslylookingatouridentityagain.Weembracenewattitudesandthoughts，andintegrateitintoourownethnicgroup，ourhometown，andourfamilies.Atthisstage，wemaynotbetryingtoshedthelabelofYiethnicity;butasamemberofit，how

23、canweembracethislandagain？Howcanwegivebacktoitthroughourownabilities，tonourishandloveitinabetterway？Yiluo：Evenasweenternewstages，wewillalwaysmaintainourloveforthisland，anddoourbesttonourishandloveit.MeimeiWuzioncetoldmeofaquotebyaTibetanwriter，Alai，whosaidsomethinglike：“Iwentintothedepthsoftheworld，

24、andfoundthatmyoriginisalsomydestination.Thissentencecapturesourjourneysandisthethreadrunningthroughourlives.Shizhe：AsYiluosaid，evenasouroriginmaybeourdestination，itdoesntmeanwemustphysicallyreturnLiangshanisalwayspartofourspirit.AsthenewgenerationofYipeople，wehavemoreopportunitiestoseekfurtherhorizo

25、ns，butweshouldntbelimitedbyourcurrentimaginations.Weshouldlooktoourfutureanditscountlessmanifestations.TinaXu徐盈盈AILOVEYOUIfTinderorTantanwerearabbithole，andAlicefellintoit，shewouldemergeinastrikingnetherworldsimilartoAI：LoveandArtificialIntelligenceatBeijingsHyundaiMotorstudio.Facedwithawall-sizedda

26、tingprofileattheentrance，visitorstotheSeptember-to-Januaryexhibitionchoosebetweentwoentrancesintothedarkenedgallery：oneframedbyacheckmarkontheright，andanotherwith“Xforrejectionontheleft.Mimickingtheactofswipingthroughdatingapps，viewersmeanderthroughajarringlabyrinthofscreensthatobfuscateandinterroga

27、tetheworkingsofintimacyintheageofartificialintelligence.Thetitleandconceptoftheexhibitionhingeonwordplay：thelinguisticoverlapofAI，for“artificialintelligence，and愛3i，for“loveinMandarin.Theexhibitionbringstolifethe2004BluePrizeatHyundaiMotorstudio，acompetitioninwhichyoungcuratorssubmitproposalsforanexh

28、ibition.Thewinningexhibitionondisplay，curatedbyJennyChenJiaying，presentsmultimediainteractiveinstallations，electronicgames，andthree-dimensionalanimationsbyaglobalrosterof12artists.Twopathsdivergeinadarkenedroom，butwhichoneyoutakemakesnodifference：bothwillshockandunsettle.Thefainthaloofthephonescreen

29、islikenedtoa“blueholeinChenZhouseponymousvideoinstallationBlueHole.Ayoungmillennialcrawlsbackandforthinarockycavecastincoldbluelight，lookingasvacantandlostaswefeelwhenscrollingmindlesslybeforebed，searchingforsomethingindefinite.Thesmartphonebecomesaliminaldreamscape，chargedwithexpectationandquietdes

30、pair.InDenmark-bornartistStineDejasTheIntimacyPackage，thedarknessispunctuatedbygarbledbarragesofunsettlingsounds，barelyaudibleuntilonesbackbrushesupagainstaspeaker.Ascreendepictsrobots，whichlooklikesewingmachines，kissingonatwilitbeach.Therobotsrotatealongtheiraxesinawaythatsomewhatmimicssensualnecki

31、ng，pushingtheboundaryofromance.Whatdoestworobotskissingsoundlike？Itcanonlybedescribedasakindofslurpy，whispery，sighingbuzz.Whilesomeartistsdepictworldsofspeculativefiction，thepiecesgroundedinrealityareperhapsthemostterrifying.AshleyMadisonAngelsAtWorkinBeijing，bytheinternet-basedcollective！Mediengrup

32、peBitnik，isafive-channelvideoinstallationportraying“fembotsthatprovided“entertainmentto41，659registeredBeijingusersofAshleyMadison，aCanada-basedonlinedatingservicemarketedtowardmarriedpeopleseekinganaffair.In2021，anonymoushackersstoleandreleasedAshleyMadisonsoperationalcodeandcustomerdata，revealingthattheplatformhadcreated75，000femalechatbotaccountstostrikeupconversationswithits32millionmaleusersworldwide.ThefiveBeijing-targetedfembotsstaredeadpanintospace，pairedwiththefakename，age，andlocationofthebot.The