On the occasion of the 16thChina-French Cultural Festival the exhibition presents the works of two artists who have been awarded the first Cai Guanshen Foundation Contemporary Art Prize. First created in 2021, the Prize is a contemporary art prize focusing on the interconnection between ecology and contemporary art，founded by the French Embassy and the Cai Guanshen Foundation in collaboration with the Today Art Museum in Beijing and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. The first Cai Guanshen Foundation Contemporary Art Prize was awarded to French artist Suzanne Husky and Chinese artist Tong Yixin for their interest and efforts in this field.

Enviromental Loveis an ecological manifesto expressed by the two artists through their creating, which intersects and complements each other, becoming alive around a reality over which nature overrides. The artworks created are like fireflies, illuminating a path full of obstacles and gullies in a silent forest. Through words and images, the exhibition resembles a structured and emotionally delicate poem that speaks of love for an environment in ecological crisis and the creatures in it.

The environmental consciousness in Tong Yixin’s work contains a de-anthropocentric peculiarity. The Night Vision series turns the camera on wild nocturnal creatures, showing an unconventional perspective on the mode of existence and survival of life forms. The sense of observe created by the night-vision camera forces the viewers to leave the familiar dominant position of the past and immerse themselves in the primordial madness of the wilderness, and the unexplained fragmented phrases interspersed in the images bring about a reinforcement of consciousness.

In the Environmental Love Handbook, Tong Yixin transforms the words of inspiration into an artistic form through text and light paintings. These poems, combining imagination and daily amusement, are scattered throughout the exhibition hall, like ramblings floating in some urban space.

(Photo Credits Today Art Museum and Artist)