CUI YUXUAN 

Documentary Photography, Place, Journey

  1. Puppet Manchukuo: Echoes in the Layers of Time
  2. Divided Spaces, Dissolved Orders
  3. Deconstruct the “Tools” 
  4. Lost, Lost, Lost  失，失，失
  5. Wuchang五常，Wuchang无常
  6. Swan City-State

Space, Narrative, Installation

  1. What you will  第十二夜
  2. Love Me Tender, Bite Me True 
  3. Trespass 飞（非）地烟花
  4. 溯流 Go Upstream
  5. Jiakong, Jiakong 
  6. -Borderline as Storyline- 

Object, Text, Life, Act on Instinct  
  1. 言之凿凿 As if It's Carved in Stone
  2. Cleaning as Method  
 Info/Bio

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©2024 Cui Yuxuan

2020
Tools 100*125cm/Text 20*20cm, archival Inkjet Print, photographic film, comprehensive materials (agricultural tools, wooden poles, tapes, text)
As Marshall McLuhan is famously quoted, "We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us." Tools, as the foundation of civilization, play a crucial role in our society. Evolving from primitive implements, the emergence of agricultural tools marked the rise of agricultural civilization. Tools are not only extensions of the human body but also carriers of ideology, creating new forms and scales within human life. As they drive the progress of civilization, they also shape our understanding of "safety" and "violence."

正如马歇尔·麦克卢汉所言：“我们塑造了工具，而后工具塑造了我们。”工具作为文明的基础，扮演着至关重要的角色。工具从元工具发展而来，而农业工具的产生对应着农业文明的兴起。工具不仅是人类肢体的延伸，更是意识形态的载体，在人类生活中产生了新的形式和规模。它们在推动文明进程的同时，也塑造了人类对“安全”与“暴力”的认知。

"Deconstructing Tools" explores the complex relationship between tools and "safety" through ritualistic portraits of agricultural implements imbued with metaphorical power. In these images, tools act as collective symbols, simultaneously creators of safety and potential vessels of violence. Their use and proliferation not only grant society a sense of order and security but also subtly intensify dependence on power and control.

“解构工具”通过对农业工具的摄影肖像，以一种仪式化的方式、具有隐喻力量的色彩，揭示了工具与“安全”之间的复杂关系。在这些图像中，工具作为一种集体性象征，既是安全的创造者，也是暴力的潜在载体。工具的使用和普及既赋予了社会以秩序与安全感，同时也在无形中加剧了对权力和控制的依赖。

      


















In this project, I employ multi-layered artistic techniques, repeatedly printing, overlaying, and reconstructing elements such as symbols, text, and codes, juxtaposed with photographic images, to create an abstract visual language. This language reveals the hidden relationships between tools, civilization, and history. The interplay between images and text uncovers how tools are redefined within collective memory and ideology. This process reflects the violent attributes tools have carried throughout history and questions whether they can genuinely guarantee collective safety.

在这个项目中，我通过多层次的艺术手法，将符号、文字、代码等元素进行重复印刷、叠加与重构，与摄影图像并置且相互指涉，形成一种抽象的视觉语言，以揭示工具、文明与历史之间的隐性关系。图像与文本相互交织，揭示出工具如何在集体记忆与意识形态中被重新定义。这个过程不仅反映了工具在历史进程中的暴力属性，还质疑了工具本身是否真能保障集体的安全感。

"Deconstructing Tools" seeks to dismantle the seemingly solid connection between tools and civilization, deconstructing the role of tools in human perception and social structures, exploring the boundaries between safety and insecurity, and revealing how tools become invisible weapons of ideology in modern society.

“解构工具”试图打破工具与文明之间看似牢固的关联，解构工具在人类感知和社会结构中的作用，探索安全与不安全的边界，揭示出在现代社会中，工具如何成为意识形态的隐形武器。


Installation View