EY PROJECTS is honored to present Stratascape, a solo exhibition by Chinese artist Xu Ziyun. Marking Xu’s first major showcase since her solo exhibition at Aurora Art Museum (Shanghai), this presentation focuses on her latest body of work. Employing signature materials such as gauze surfaces and stainless steel mirrors, the artist conducts an in-depth visual archaeology of Shanghai’s architectural spaces, profoundly reconstructing the multidimensional visage of the spectacle society.

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Serving as the core of the inspiration for Xu’s new series of work, the Shanghai Exhibition Center building engages in subtle spatial dialogue with the EY PROJECTS gallery due to their proximity. Within the urban landscape of Shanghai, this monument not only stands as a witness to historical incidents and shifts of power but also continually facilitates social exchange and cultural convergence. In Xu’s work, the traditional motifs of the historical architecture in Shanghai and the curtain walls of contemporary skyscrapers are meticulously interlaced and superimposed, transporting viewers into a symbiotic realm of the past, the present, and the future. Through these works, audiences touch upon the city’s intrinsic tension—its fervent embrace of Western cultures while remaining deeply rooted in native soil—revealing a cultural hybridity distinctive to the post-global context.

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This provokes reflection on the meaning of space, whether it is constructed by the macro unit of a "city" or the micro "architecture": space itself is not the defining element; what matters are the individuals acting within it and the culture they shape. French philosopher Henri Lefebvre critically asserts that space is never a neutral physical container nor a mere site of consumption; rather, it is a product of social relations that in turn continuously produces new social relations. Space is social, political, and saturated with traces of power dynamics. Lefebvre emphasizes that in modern society, space increasingly functions as a key instrument for capital accumulation and power control ("spatial production"), yet he simultaneously calls for attention to "human subjectivity in spatial practice"—that is, how individuals experience, appropriate, perceive, and ultimately resist or reshape space, imbuing it with meaning. Xu’s practice resonates with this inquiry. By layering and juxtaposing architectonic imageries from disparate times and spaces within her pictorial fields, she not only challenges singular linear historical logic but, more crucially, asserts the subjectivity of individuals in the process of spatial cognition and meaning-making.

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If Robert Delaunay’s deconstruction of cityscapes and reorganization of color and light expresses an early 20thcentury aspiration for "la Belle Époque" amid industrial revolution, Xu Ziyun firmly stands in the contemporary time, seeking selfhood in stratified spatial compositions. Within these intricately multi-layered visual fields (where the use of transparent gauze is particularly significant), Xu invites viewers to slow their pace, evoking a "slowed-down" mode for contemplation. The strategic integration of stainless steel mirrors further guides audiences to examine the complexity of multiple "productions" of space—shifting their gaze from observing objective "space" itself toward reflecting on the existence of "human subjectivity" within it.

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Stratascape transcends mere representation of architectural entities or cityscapes, evolving into a profound exploration of spatial production, historical depth, cultural transmission, and the meaning of individual existence. This distinctive artistic approach creates a virtual meditative space possessing a time-suspended, therapeutic quality. Viewers are invited to immerse themselves in the work, sensing the flow of time within a dislocated, self-oblivious state—unaware of their location or the present moment—compelled to interrogate their own existence and identity.