SubHuman: a feminist contemplation of the body

ARTISTs
LIN XIN, ZHOU RAN

CURATOR
YUBING GUO

EXHIBITION DATES
AUG 10 – SEPT 11, 2021

GALLERY HOURS
TU–Sa: 12–6 PM; M, SU: CLOSED


SubHuman: a feminist contemplation of the body features current works by two Chinese women artists, Wuhan-based Lin Xin and Vancouver-based Zhou Ran. In this exhibition, Lin and Zhou incorporate their thinking about the body and gendered experiences with socio-cultural themes in their art.  

An anchor of this exhibition is the body, body of a woman, a doll, a cyborg, and an abstract form of existence. While subhuman means “a being of a lower level of morality or intelligence than the human,” the strikethrough Sub intends to pose a provocative question and invite thoughts on the social construction of women and the cyborg in a transtemporal sense. 

Lin Xin is a multimedia artist and associate professor at Hubei Institute of Fine Arts in China. Lin’s art focuses on digital media and its interaction with reality. Her practice includes oil paintings, digital images, and lighting installations, which lead the audience into an alternative reality of cyberspace.

Zhou Ran is a visual artist whose practice is influenced by her continuous movement across different cultures. Transcending specific national restrictions and traditional concepts, Zhou’s art creates a subtle space located at crevices between the concept of contemporary culture and individual awareness in a time of globalization. 

SubHuman: a feminist contemplation of the body is curated by Yubing Guo, a candidate for the MA in Critical and Curatorial Studies at the University of British Columbia. The project is presented by Canton-sardine with support from the Killy Foundation and the Audain Endowment for Curatorial Studies through the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory in collaboration with the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia.

Metal Mask 004, 2011, by Lin Xin
Broken Core No.1, 2011, by Lin Xin
Doll + Body Transmigration in its Ideal Fantasy, 2020, by Zhou Ran
Doll + Body Transmigration in its Ideal Fantasy, 2020, by Zhou Ran