In “Optimized Heart,” a two-person exhibition by David Douard and Liu Shiyuan, UCCA invites both artists to find new connections and inspirations within the context of each other’s practices. The two artists have long adhered to mixed-media based creation, combining images, installations, and sculptures. Each has formed their own distinctive creative characteristics through their respective treatment of culture and images. French artist Douard often draws materials from the world of the Internet and the anonymous masses. He constantly transforms sounds, videos, poems, and written texts from life, and through sculptures and video installations, shapes an evolving social space and imagines the possibility of resistance. Liu often takes into account the complexity of ethical issues in the context of globalization, and at the same time, through her image-based creations—from sketches to collage photography, videos, and installations—she frequently questions ever-changing technologies’ invasion into intimate dimensions and consumer culture, as well as its impact on people, putting forward a real concern for the destiny of humankind.

Through language as a medium—whether textual, pictorial, or acoustical, the exhibition attempts to explore how the competition mechanism and self-optimization-driven discipline in contemporary global society subtly affect the perception of the subject. Through their artistic dialogue, Douard and Liu will present a poetic and imaginative world to the audience, and invite people to reflect on how information dissemination, images of consumption, and digital governance shape affects and epistemology in our social life. The exhibition is curated by UCCA Curator Yan Fang.

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