Sara Christova, Ning An, Li Yanzheng, Xu Han, Yang Yu, Fractured Continuum at Sound Art Museum, Beijing

Fractured Continuum by Sara Christova, Ning An, Li Yanzheng, Xu Han, and Yang Yu, curated by Cheng Xi, at Sound Art Museum, Beijing, 09/03/2025–29/04/2025.

Exhibition text:
In an era marked by technological acceleration, ecological crises, and cultural conflicts, we are living within a “fractured continuum.” Time is no longer a linear flow but has been digitized, fragmented, and even virtualized. Memory is no longer a stable narrative of individuals or collectives but has been re-coded by algorithms, media, and power. Time in contemporary society manifests in multiple dimensions. On one hand, technological advancements allow us to record, store, and reproduce time at unprecedented speeds; on the other hand, this technological intervention has fragmented time, stripping it of its historical continuity and depth.

The body is no longer a natural product but a battleground for technology and biopolitics. Geological time collides with human time, revealing the profound impact of human activity on the Earth. Perception is reshaped by technology, and culture continuously fractures and reorganizes under the tension between globalization and locality. The body, as a vessel of perception, is both a product of culture and a witness to geological time. Technological development has not only altered how we interact with the world but also reshaped our perceptual structures. Virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology are blurring the boundaries between the natural and the artificial, the real and the virtual. In the context of contemporary art, technology is no longer merely a tool or medium but has become a new geological layer, documenting the transformations of the human body and memory. In the tide of globalization, culture both reorganizes through fractures and fractures through continuity.

The tension between the local and the global, the ancient and the contemporary, constitutes the fundamental characteristics of contemporary culture. Artists juxtapose symbols and images from different cultures, creating a visual “cultural archaeology.” These works not only reveal the fractures and fusions of culture in the process of globalization but also hint at new cultural possibilities: finding continuity within fractures and creating commonality within difference. “Fractured Continuum” is not only a description of contemporary society but also a philosophical reflection. Fracture and continuity are not opposites but interdependent processes of co-evolution.

Through the works of five artists, we are invited to re-examine the complex relationships between time, memory, the body, geology, technology, and culture, and to contemplate how to find continuity within fractures and meaning within uncertainty. The exhibition invites the audience to explore the continuities hidden within fractures and the fractures latent within continuities, offering a new way of understanding and responding to the complexities of reality.