Li Shuang

ÆTHER (Poor Objects)

ÆTHER (Poor Objects) by Li Shuang builds on the artist’s consideration of the interplay between physical and digital spaces. Through a kaleidoscopic video collage, Li examines the complexities of personal subjectivity within an increasingly immersive and omnipresent online culture. Among disparate imagery that includes extra-terrestrial simulations, dizzying hordes of birds, animated figures trapped in dystopian virtual spaces, and real-life abandoned places, the video references the Chinese creation myth of Nuwa, a goddess who uses her own body to repair the sky.

Interspersing footage of two female vlogger protagonists, Li’s video uses bodily sublimation to consider the slippages between virtual and physical realities. The video merges imagery of a solar eclipse, further illuminated by a  ring light, a device commonly used by influencers, cam models, vloggers, and other social media personalities, now adopted by many office workers since the massive post-pandemic transition to remote work. The concept of leakage anchors both the visual and audio components of the video. Underscoring the collapse between work and leisure, leakage becomes an imperfect transmission between physical life and its translation into the virtual realm. Exercising both the tension and the potential of the subject-object dynamic, Li’s work is not merely a demonstration, but an intervention into this dialogue between avatars and viewers.