Exhibition on the Internet VS. Online Exhibition - Talking about the exhibition "For Martian Anthropologists"

Original source: Stand News (Link: https://reurl.cc/W34DR7)

As big as entry and exit restrictions, and as small as social distancing between people, the plague forces us to re-experience the space, and art activities that attach importance to on-site communication bear specific and direct impacts. Theater seats were separated, and exhibition and performance venues were forced to close. Many projects were expelled from the real world and fled to the online world. Computers and the Internet have been widely used for decades, and we have long been accustomed to spending more time on small screens than the people around us. We think we are familiar with the online world, and all activities are transferred online.

In the past few months, all kinds of projects have been forced to the Internet, and I suddenly realized that the Internet is such a strange space.

As a viewer, I like to explore and observe, and not being able to experience it in person becomes a challenge. I complained that only the audio-visual effect was left, and the feeling seemed too flat. On my phone, or in front of my computer, I can't always concentrate like I do in a theater/exhibition. When I watch a performance, I can’t help but flip through my phone or discuss with people around me on the spot; when I watch an exhibition, I jump out to reply when I see a message, and then watch it on another day—the viewing experience becomes fragmented. Moving art activities online is not just a change of medium, but a complete change in the entire sense of space. After months of accumulated "virtual art experience" came a few days ago, I finally had an epiphany.

The turning point was the recently opened exhibition "For Martian Anthropologists" at the New Taipei City Arts and Culture Center. Yes, this is an exhibition outside Hong Kong, but the information provided by local friends is very interesting to me. She said: "The real scene of the exhibition is in the virtual space; what remains in the physical exhibition hall are clues, or traces. Taking advantage of current issues, flipping the dual concept of online and offline." This happens to deal with a major question in the art industry today: There are too many physical restrictions, and the old road is impassable; the virtual world seems to be the only exit, but the new road does not know how to go.

I think "To Martian Anthropologists" has done a pretty good attempt.