2020 URL is LOVE - A Digital Retrospective
Tabula Rasa Gallery is pleased to present artist aaajiao’s online retrospective “2020 URL is LOVE - A Digital Retrospective” from August 1st, 2020.
This exhibition marks the first solo exhibition collaboration between Tabula Rasa Gallery and aaajiao, as well as the second online exhibition launched by the gallery after its inaugural online exhibition Tabula Rasa Vista in May. The exhibition will present aaajiao’s most representative works that employed Internet as medium from 2008 to 2020. It can be seen as a history of the use of technology by a Chinese millennial artist/netizen. It is also the first-ever online retrospective in aaajiao’s artistic career.
We’ve seen an increase in online exhibition due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and this exhibition is a response to this phenomenon. As Sammi Liu, the Executive Director of Tabula Rasa Gallery, stated, “in current online exhibitions, physical works are migrated online, the works featured in our exhibition were virtual works in the first place, and this exhibition will allow them to be viewed in their original state, which is meant to be experienced on phone or laptop.”
According to aaajiao, Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan once stated that “medium is the message”, and we are trying to add some new elements to this opinion, that virtual artworks as a medium can be seen as data streaming. Streaming is quite important in this case, as these URLs break the monopoly of platform economy, and emphasize the nature of the Internet, and these works flowing around the internet have more destructive power.”
The title of the exhibition “URL is LOVE” took inspiration from Tim Berners-Lee's utopian vision when he invented the World Wide Web in 1989. The web address (URL) behind each hyperlink made communication beyond physical space possible, and to a certain extent it opens the door to freedom, which symbolizes love. In 2020, the world is full of simulacra and twisted truth, and truth becomes indistinguishable from lies. It is reminiscent of the question raised by the Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom in his 2003 essay: “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?” When we encounter these problems, aaajiao’s previous works are particularly farsighted.
In the past decade, aaajiao has been focusing on the evolution of identity in the Internet space and the possibilities it would generate. In the beginning, our identity is “User”, operating in a program set by the “Administrator” and we were passively isolated from the screen. As we are getting too dependent upon technology and cyberspace, which functions as a storage place of our memory, digital media blends with our cognitive world, our identity becomes more like an “Internet Bot”. In addition to these identities constrained by algorithm, perhaps we can try to experience the cyber world from the perspective of a “Player”. Only by wandering through worldviews set by different algorithms can we break through our perceptions on the objective reality, use the new perceptions we obtain to understand the human situation, and ultimately have an insight beyond language.
In the initial stage of creation, the works featured in the exhibition were created on aaajiao’s computer in the form of application, and then presented in different exhibitions using media such as video installations and videos as carriers. This time, they will be resurrected on the Internet through URL. Media content will continue to be upgraded and outdated, but URLs will never die. These works will be spread and experienced by “Players” around the world, flowing in an infinite virtual world. As the artist said: “Perhaps when everything can be quantified as a data stream, URL is the greatest right we can hold. URL is love, and freedom.”
Tabula Rasa 画廊荣幸地宣布将于2020年8月1日起呈现艺术家 aaajiao 的数字作品回顾展“2020 URL is LOVE - A Digital Retrospective”。
这是 Tabula Rasa 画廊与 aaajiao 合作的首次在线个展，也是画廊继5月 Tabula Rasa Vista之后推出的第二个在线展览。展览将展出 aaajiao 从2008年到2020年十二年间利用互联网作为创作媒介的最具代表性的作品，也梳理出了一条中国千禧一代艺术家/网络用户的科技使用史。这也是 aaajiao 职业生涯中的首个线上回顾展。
这次展览也是对因为疫情影响带来的网络展览热潮的一个回应，Tabula Rasa画廊负责人刘亦嫄认为， “目前普遍的线上展览都是将物理作品搬到网络上观看，而我们这次的展览中，aaajiao 的作品本身都是虚拟作品，这次展览可以使得作品回归到他们创作的原生观看状态，即完全适用于手机和电脑屏幕中观赏的状态。”
aaajiao认为“引用麦克卢汉的观点，媒介即信息，而我们在尝试做一些补充，虚拟作品这种媒介即是流动的信息，流动在这里至关重要，因为这些URL破除了原来平台化经济的垄断，回归了互联网本身流动的属性，这些流动的作品更具破坏力。”
展览题目“URL is LOVE”取自蒂姆·伯纳斯·李（Tim Berners-Lee）在1989年发明万维网（World Wide Web）时所设想的乌托邦图景。存在于超链接（Hyperlink）背后的网址（URL）实现了超越物理空间的交流，在某种程度上打开了自由的大门，自由即是爱。 2020年，世界充斥着拟像的真相，真实与虚妄难以分辨，不禁令人想起瑞典哲学家尼克·伯斯特罗姆（Nick Bostrom）在他2003年的论文中提出的疑问：“你生活在电脑模拟中吗？”面对这类问题，aaajiao 的过往作品显得尤其具有前瞻性。
在过去的十几年间，aaajiao 长期关注着网络身份的演变及其带来的可能性。艺术家认为，我们的网络身份起初是“用户”（User），在由“管理员”（Administrator）设定好的程式中进行操作，被动地被隔绝在屏幕之外。随着我们越来越依赖电子设备和网络空间，网络中存储着我们大量的“外置记忆”。当数字媒介与我们认知世界的相互交融，我们的身份可以被比拟为“网络机器人”（Internet Bot）。而在这些受锢于网络维度算法的身份之外，也许我们可以尝试采用“玩家”（Player）的视角去体验赛博世界。游走于不同算法设定的世界观，突破对客观世界的认知，用获得的新知觉去理解人类自身的处境，获得一种超越语言的洞悉。
本次展览的作品在创作初期都是以程序形式存在于aaajiao的电脑中，后以影像装置、视频等媒介作为载体呈现在不同的展览中。这一次，它们将借由URL在互联网中复活。媒介内容会不断地升级与淘汰，但不会消亡的是URL。这些作品将被世界各地的“玩家”传播和体验，流动在无限的虚拟世界。如艺术家所说：“也许当一切都可以量化为数据流时，URL是我们所能持有的最大权利。URL便还是爱，是自由。”
Tabula Rasa Gallery is pleased to present artist aaajiao’s online retrospective “2020 URL is LOVE - A Digital Retrospective” from August 1st, 2020.
This exhibition marks the first solo exhibition collaboration between Tabula Rasa Gallery and aaajiao, as well as the second online exhibition launched by the gallery after its inaugural online exhibition Tabula Rasa Vista in May. The exhibition will present aaajiao’s most representative works that employed Internet as medium from 2008 to 2020. It can be seen as a history of the use of technology by a Chinese millennial artist/netizen. It is also the first-ever online retrospective in aaajiao’s artistic career.
We’ve seen an increase in online exhibition due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and this exhibition is a response to this phenomenon. As Sammi Liu, the Executive Director of Tabula Rasa Gallery, stated, “in current online exhibitions, physical works are migrated online, the works featured in our exhibition were virtual works in the first place, and this exhibition will allow them to be viewed in their original state, which is meant to be experienced on phone or laptop.”
According to aaajiao, Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan once stated that “medium is the message”, and we are trying to add some new elements to this opinion, that virtual artworks as a medium can be seen as data streaming. Streaming is quite important in this case, as these URLs break the monopoly of platform economy, and emphasize the nature of the Internet, and these works flowing around the internet have more destructive power.”
The title of the exhibition “URL is LOVE” took inspiration from Tim Berners-Lee's utopian vision when he invented the World Wide Web in 1989. The web address (URL) behind each hyperlink made communication beyond physical space possible, and to a certain extent it opens the door to freedom, which symbolizes love. In 2020, the world is full of simulacra and twisted truth, and truth becomes indistinguishable from lies. It is reminiscent of the question raised by the Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom in his 2003 essay: “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?” When we encounter these problems, aaajiao’s previous works are particularly farsighted.
In the past decade, aaajiao has been focusing on the evolution of identity in the Internet space and the possibilities it would generate. In the beginning, our identity is “User”, operating in a program set by the “Administrator” and we were passively isolated from the screen. As we are getting too dependent upon technology and cyberspace, which functions as a storage place of our memory, digital media blends with our cognitive world, our identity becomes more like an “Internet Bot”. In addition to these identities constrained by algorithm, perhaps we can try to experience the cyber world from the perspective of a “Player”. Only by wandering through worldviews set by different algorithms can we break through our perceptions on the objective reality, use the new perceptions we obtain to understand the human situation, and ultimately have an insight beyond language.
In the initial stage of creation, the works featured in the exhibition were created on aaajiao’s computer in the form of application, and then presented in different exhibitions using media such as video installations and videos as carriers. This time, they will be resurrected on the Internet through URL. Media content will continue to be upgraded and outdated, but URLs will never die. These works will be spread and experienced by “Players” around the world, flowing in an infinite virtual world. As the artist said: “Perhaps when everything can be quantified as a data stream, URL is the greatest right we can hold. URL is love, and freedom.”
Tabula Rasa 画廊荣幸地宣布将于2020年8月1日起呈现艺术家 aaajiao 的数字作品回顾展“2020 URL is LOVE - A Digital Retrospective”。
这是 Tabula Rasa 画廊与 aaajiao 合作的首次在线个展，也是画廊继5月 Tabula Rasa Vista之后推出的第二个在线展览。展览将展出 aaajiao 从2008年到2020年十二年间利用互联网作为创作媒介的最具代表性的作品，也梳理出了一条中国千禧一代艺术家/网络用户的科技使用史。这也是 aaajiao 职业生涯中的首个线上回顾展。
这次展览也是对因为疫情影响带来的网络展览热潮的一个回应，Tabula Rasa画廊负责人刘亦嫄认为， “目前普遍的线上展览都是将物理作品搬到网络上观看，而我们这次的展览中，aaajiao 的作品本身都是虚拟作品，这次展览可以使得作品回归到他们创作的原生观看状态，即完全适用于手机和电脑屏幕中观赏的状态。”
aaajiao认为“引用麦克卢汉的观点，媒介即信息，而我们在尝试做一些补充，虚拟作品这种媒介即是流动的信息，流动在这里至关重要，因为这些URL破除了原来平台化经济的垄断，回归了互联网本身流动的属性，这些流动的作品更具破坏力。”
展览题目“URL is LOVE”取自蒂姆·伯纳斯·李（Tim Berners-Lee）在1989年发明万维网（World Wide Web）时所设想的乌托邦图景。存在于超链接（Hyperlink）背后的网址（URL）实现了超越物理空间的交流，在某种程度上打开了自由的大门，自由即是爱。 2020年，世界充斥着拟像的真相，真实与虚妄难以分辨，不禁令人想起瑞典哲学家尼克·伯斯特罗姆（Nick Bostrom）在他2003年的论文中提出的疑问：“你生活在电脑模拟中吗？”面对这类问题，aaajiao 的过往作品显得尤其具有前瞻性。
在过去的十几年间，aaajiao 长期关注着网络身份的演变及其带来的可能性。艺术家认为，我们的网络身份起初是“用户”（User），在由“管理员”（Administrator）设定好的程式中进行操作，被动地被隔绝在屏幕之外。随着我们越来越依赖电子设备和网络空间，网络中存储着我们大量的“外置记忆”。当数字媒介与我们认知世界的相互交融，我们的身份可以被比拟为“网络机器人”（Internet Bot）。而在这些受锢于网络维度算法的身份之外，也许我们可以尝试采用“玩家”（Player）的视角去体验赛博世界。游走于不同算法设定的世界观，突破对客观世界的认知，用获得的新知觉去理解人类自身的处境，获得一种超越语言的洞悉。
本次展览的作品在创作初期都是以程序形式存在于aaajiao的电脑中，后以影像装置、视频等媒介作为载体呈现在不同的展览中。这一次，它们将借由URL在互联网中复活。媒介内容会不断地升级与淘汰，但不会消亡的是URL。这些作品将被世界各地的“玩家”传播和体验，流动在无限的虚拟世界。如艺术家所说：“也许当一切都可以量化为数据流时，URL是我们所能持有的最大权利。URL便还是爱，是自由。”
Click ❤️️ to collect URL is LOVE / 点击❤️️了解如何收藏URL is LOVE
#01
010000.org
.website
2008
“010000” is aaajiao’s first Internet work, in which he explores the possibility of privatization of cyberspace and its conflict with the nature of cyberspace as a public space. The work was inspired by a lease contract signed between aaajiao and curator Li Zhenhua. In 2008, Li Zhenhua rented a cyberspace from one of aaajiao’s servers for a lease term of 10,000 years. The work presents a countdown of ten thousand years that loops continuously. The start date depends on the user’s location. The length of the lease term is limited yet uncontrollable. As it is placed in a virtual space, the concept of time is thus eliminated, and “010000” becomes an eternal witness.
《010000》是aaajiao创作的首个网站作品，探讨了网络空间的私有化的可能性及其与公众性的冲突。作品源自aaajiao与策展人李振华签署的一份租赁合同。2008年，李振华在aaajiao管理的服务器中租下一个赛博空间，租期为一万年。作品中呈现了不断循环消减的万年倒计时，起始日期取决于用户所在的地区。有限却不可控的的租期被置于虚拟的空间中，时间的概念由此被消解，《010000》成为一场永恒的见证。
#02
Cloud.data
云数据
.website.app
2009, 2020
In “Cloud.data”, different sounds will be triggered by clicking the screen, and the clouds will move forward as well. Since the work was created in 2009, it has been featured in aaajiao's previous exhibitions in different forms of medium, such as audio-visual interactive performance, video installation and iPhone / iPad applications etc. The version exhibited in this exhibition is the recent updated version-URL, existing in the screen in its original form.
在《Cloud.data》中，根据屏幕上的提示点击会触发不同的声音，云雾也随之向前移动。自2009年首次亮相以来，作品曾以影音交互表演、影像装置以及iPhone/iPad应用程序等不同的媒介形式出现在aaajiao的过往展览中，在本次展览中的最新版本，是以原生形态回归到屏幕中展出。
#03
Turritopisis Nutricula
道恩灯塔水母
.website
2010, 2020
After the death of the body of Turritopsis Nutricula, it attaches itself to a surface in warm ocean waters, its cells undergo transdifferentiation, and it will transform itself back into their juvenile polyp state. Therefore, this jellyfish is called the immortal creature. In this work, aaajiao digitalizes the natural form of the jellyfish, mimicking its transformation. The work responds to the question that with the rise of AI in our technological world, can an autonomous computer prog
道恩灯塔水母的水母体死亡后，沉到水底。细胞将重新聚集，在衍生出的水螅体中产生新的水母。因此，自然界中将这种水母称为“不死之躯”。在作品中，aaajiao将水母的自然形态电子化，循环生命出现的过程。作品回应自互联网发明以来，在依托其诞生的新的电脑维度中，一套自主运算程序将如何自发地生成一个生命体？这个生命体能否能够获得永生？
#04
The Screen Generation
屏幕一代
.website .app
2013, 2020
"Screen Generation" is composed of six works: "Soft", "Repeatedly", "Hard", "Pure", "Static" and "Noise". aaajiao presents a new ecosystem formed by human beings as the "Screen Generation" and the "screen", which is an information carrier as well. By repeating the content in the screen, the work indicates six kinds of personalities of screen.
Soft: The first generation of digital natives has a unique memory of blue.
Repeatedly: aaajiao uses numerous mini gifs to construct a space with depth.
Hard: Inspired by early YouTube videos, in which subtitles were often go out of sync, and the "beep" sound that is used to replace sensitive information, the artist edited the video clips of scientist Isaac Asimov talking about robotics with double false information.
Pure: All the colors displayed on the screen are created by mixing the three primary colors, R (red), G (green) and B (blue). The artist treats them poetically, comparing their variable nature with ocean waves.
Static: There is a faint light in the screen, simulating the dynamics of the screen during light leakage.
Noise: An image composed of white noise embodies the memory of screen in past few decades.
《屏幕一代》由《柔软》、《反复》、《坚硬》、《纯粹》、《静止》和《闹》六件作品组成。aaajiao在作品中呈现了我们作为“屏幕一代”与同为信息载体的“屏幕”形成的新生态系统。借由屏幕的反复流动，隐喻着屏幕的六种性格。
《柔软》：最初的互联网一代对蓝色有着独特的记忆。
《反复》：艺术家用无数个迷你gif图构造了一个拥有深
度的空间。
《坚硬》：受启发于早期youtube视频不匹配的字幕和网络节目中惯常用于遮盖关键词的“哔”声，艺术家将科学家撒·艾西莫夫(Isaac Asimov)谈论机器人学的视频片段配以双重错误的信息。
《纯粹》：屏幕中显示的所有颜色由RGB三原色配置而成，艺术家对其进行诗意化的处理，以海浪比拟三原色的变量身份。
《静止》：屏幕中透着微弱的光亮，模拟着屏幕漏光时的动态。
《闹》：由白噪音（white noise）组成的影像纵贯了几十年的屏幕记忆。
#05
Space
空间
.website .app
2016, 2020
According to Internet Live Stats, there were 1.7 billion websites existing in the world in 2016. By 2020, this number has risen to two billion, yet in fact only 400 million websites are active. The rest of the websites become obsolete as the pace of technological change is so rapid. aaajiao's work “Space” reflects on the electronic relics and data created by humans in the virtual world. The work presents a blank web page, and two useless page navigation bars slide up and down. It seems the “Users” are participating in it, but no information can be found.
We can also say: When the website dies.
2016年，据Internet Live Stats网站的统计，世界上一共有十七亿个网站存在。到了2020年，这个数字上升到二十亿，而实际上只有四亿个网站在运营。余下的网站，因为我们每日所使用的技术和媒体形式迅速更新无人问津。aaajiao在作品《Space》中对人类在虚拟维度中创造的电子遗留物和数据进行了反观。作品呈现了一个空白的网页，两个无用的页面浏览条上下左右滑动，“用户”看似参与其中，却找不到任何有效信息。
我们也可以说：当网站死去。
#06
Tennis for None
无人网球
.website .app
2016, 2020
“Tennis for None” is an appropriation of “Tennis for Two” (1958) - one the earliest examples of video game technology, which is a fairly simple tennis simulation game in which two players use joysticks to pass a ball back and forth on an oscilloscope. aaajiao’s contemporary version re-imagines both players as machines, where an endless loop plays of a ball bouncing into infinity. The work questions the crisis of human existence in an increasingly technological world. When humans are absent, will the idea of autonomy and free will be redefined?
《无人网球》是一个对历史上最早期的电子游戏《双人网球》（1958年）的挪用。《双人网球》是一个简单的网球模拟比赛游戏，两名玩家使用游戏杆在示波器上来回打球。aaajiao的当代版本去除了人的参与，用机器程序替代玩家， 游戏也变成了无限路径的传球运动。作品质疑了科技对当代生活的渗透现象中人类的存在危机。当人类缺席，自主性与自由意志是否会被重新定义。
#07
Light_7.pmap
.file
2017
A light file named light_7.pmap with a volume of 211KB is imported into the Mental Ray (a rendering application) to generate caustics and global illumination effects. In a way, we create light. Placed on the same page with "Screen Generation: Soft", it presents the conflict among various forms of light in the computer dimension.
一个名为 light_7.pmap、体积211KB的光文件被导入进Mental Ray渲染器里，可以生成焦散和全局照明效果。某种程度上，我们便拥有了光。与《屏幕一代：蓝色》并置于一个页面中，呈现了光在电脑维度中的多种形态之间的冲突。
#08
protester/cursor/emoji
抗争者/光标/表情
.website .app
2019
By using emoji, aaajiao explores the impact of social media on the language system in the post-truth era. A stream of emoji pops out with the movement of user’s mouse, however, the real emotions are dispelled. When language of Internet tend to be visualized, and politics before truth, "User" will become an anonymous "keyboard warrior".
艺术家运用网络中常见的表情符号，探讨在后真相时代中社交媒体的交流方式对语言系统的冲击。源源不断的表情符号（Emoji）随着鼠标的移动弹出，但真正的情绪却被消解。当网络语言转向视觉化，立场先于真相，“用户”则会成为匿名的“键盘侠”。
#09
Party
爬梯
.website. app
2019, 2020
aaajiao visualizes the Metadata to create an infinite space where the audience can wander through the space, and encounter visual and auditory symbols which have appeared in Chinese galas and thus familiar to Chinese audiences. The artist uses these video clips that are associated with “happiness” and "positive vibe" to discuss control and production of the discourse of ideology in cyberspace.
艺术家将元数据（Metadata）进行可视化想象创造出一个无限衍生的空间，观众可自行操作在空间内游荡，并不时的碰到中国观众熟识的大型联欢活动中的视觉和听觉符号。 这些激起“欢乐气氛”和“正能量”的中国特色记忆，是艺术家对于网络空间意识形态领域的话语权的掌控与生产。
#10
protester/cursor/eyes
抗争者/光标/眼睛
.website .app
2020
When the audience slides their mouse, the emoji “eyes” would appear on the screen following the movement of the mouse. The title concisely represents aaajiao’s attitude towards current social events. The work aims to discuss the impact of social media on language system and the sincerity obstructed by Internet in the post-truth era.
观众可自行在屏幕中滑出代表“眼睛”的表情符号，作品名称简明扼要的表达了艺术家对于当下新闻事件的态度，探讨在后真相时代中社交媒体的交流方式对语言系统的冲击以及网络中被掩盖的真实信息。
*All the works are made possible with the collaboration of Liu Xiaoguang, Tan Shuoxin and Xu Cong.
*所有作品是与团队成员刘晓光、谭硕欣、许聪共同完成。