Gao Weigang’s sensitivity to artistic language often energetically expressive use of the cold, unfeeling materials of marble and metal. At the same time the scope of his interests extend to painting and installation work as avenues by which to explore ambiguous and obscure concepts. In the 2012 installation work Superstition the artist creates a fake archeological site, displaying a series of geometric models used in the foundational study of the plastic arts. Behind the objects’ bizarre traces of weathering and the manufactured sense of history, one cannot help but doubt one’s own preconceived judgements and deeply rooted aesthetic standards.

The artist likens his work to “a baby separated from the body of its mother”, and as an attempt to structurally reorganise and replace that which is taken to be ordinary, and to initiate a transformative visual experience, commenting that: “from childhood, your worldview is subliminally influenced through your schooling and your life experiences. You believe what you have been told about the world to be correct, you believe it to be true and build all of your ideas within this construction of reality that you have formed. Humans have built systems of logic and language in an attempt to find order in a chaotic world. However, I like to create works that distort reality, because I am unwilling to believe absolutely in what others tell me. I am skeptical towards everything, life is more interesting this way.”

(Edited by Lijie Wang & Miao Zijin)