展期 Period：
2023.10.22—2023.12.22
艺术家 Artist：
策展人 Curator：
地点 Venue：
新闻稿 Press Release：
金色地球挂在墙上散发着完美而刺目的微光，如同高档酒店大堂内悬挂的世界时钟一般。它仿佛是全球化的某种缩影——世界的时刻都在我们面前，宇宙的每一个片段我们都可将其连接。与之对应着的，是承载不同器物的铁质镂空地球仪2，锈迹斑斑却让人不禁思考：在去中心化的大流行中，个体是否只是无数时间线里被逐渐边缘化，被消解了自我的尘埃。集体经验与狂欢、个体意识与存在，这正是艺术家高伟刚在全新个展「唯一」中构建的命题。
高伟刚的创作时常流露出一种距离感，包括物理及时间尺度上的。他有意识地通过描绘一种高纬度、全景式的的世界观来映射出个体的渺小。跳脱出时代的洪流，在宏大的视角与更长的时间线下反观、思考，以此来唤醒观者对于自我更本质的认知，从而打破对于事物固有的逻辑体系。
在作品《You are me》中，完整的镜面被反复敲碎成无序的碎片。每一块碎片都能找到似乎与之对应的另一块。高伟刚将它们以对称的方式拼接起来，组成规律的图案。而观者会被视觉惯性所欺骗，不自觉地认为这些碎片是完全对称的，并在脑海中进一步肯定、确信。高伟刚的作品在设置谜局的同时，也给出了答案——如果沉溺于经验与被告知真相，所见也不一定即所得。
同时，高伟刚对于某些主题的选择有着区别于时代而向下植根的执着。楼梯与镜子拥有某种相似的特性，它们都是连接两端的媒介与过渡，在看似开放的同时，终点是被规定的。在十几年间，高伟刚对于楼梯的不同呈现，以及对于镜面材质在不同作品上的运用，除了完成了艺术家自我创作语言的塑造外，还将他本人在不同阶段的偶发思考，延伸、赋予至同一主体上。
地球之浩瀚、宇宙之遥远、楼梯、骰子之于我们的习以为常，以及囿于镜子之间的那层谜团，都在艺术家对内容、材质及尺寸的把控下，将观者与作品平衡于一种微妙的关系里。在这种或远或近的距离中，我们可以在高伟刚的作品中读取如同抽象叙事一般的诗性。不可以被轻易解读，却又因为其质朴的表达感受到共鸣。这也恰好沿袭了高伟刚一贯的创作理念，既通过寻常之物讲述朴实之理。
「唯⼀」好比将无数骰子被抛向空中，它关于某种偶然的碰撞，⼀种看似不存在的概率。高伟刚在他呈现出看似理智、冷静甚至荒芜的场景之下，保持着浪漫的愿景，寻求那唯一的可能性。什么的可能性？却没有唯一的答案，只是在被固化的、高度统一的认知中每个人独有的那一刹那。
The golden earth 3 hangs on the wall emitting a perfect and blinding shimmer, like the clocks hanging in the lobby of an exclusive hotel. It seems like a microcosm of globalisation - the world's moments are in front of us, and every fragment of the universe can be jointed together. Corresponding to them are iron hollow globes carrying different objects 4 , which are rusty but make people wonder whether the individual is just a piece of dust that has been gradually marginalised and dissolved in countless timelines, in the pandemic of decentralisation. Collective experience and ecstasy, individual consciousness and existence, these are the propositions constructed by artist Gao Weigang in his new solo exhibition One in A Billion.
Gao Weigang's creations often exude a sense of distance, both on a physical and temporal scale. He consciously maps out the insignificance of the individual by depicting a high-latitude, panoramic view of the world. Jump out of the tide of the times, reflect and think from a grand perspective and a longer timeline, in order to awaken the viewer's understanding of the essence of oneself and break the inherent logical system of things.
In the work You are me, one complete mirror is repeatedly cracked into disorderly pieces. Each piecet can find another one that seems to correspond to it. Gao Weigang puts them together in a symmetrical way to form a regular pattern. Viewers are deceived by visual inertia and unconsciously believes that these fragments are perfectly symmetrical, and further affirm and be convinced in their minds. Gao Weigang's works set up puzzles, but also give the answer - if one indulges in experience and being told the truth, what you see is not necessarily what they get.
Simultaneously, Gao Weigang's choice of certain themes is rooted in a deep connection to a bygone era. Stairs and mirrors share simlar characteristics; they both serve as media of transition and connection between two points. Seemingly open, yet their endpoints are predetermined. Over the course of more than a decade, Gao Weigang's exploration of stairs in different presentations, and his use of mirrored materials in various works not only shaped his own artistic language, but also extended and imparted his occasional contemplations from different phases onto the same subject.
The vastness of the earth, the remoteness of the universe, the commonplace of stairs and dice, and the enigma of mirrors are all balanced in a subtle relationship between the viewer and the work by the artist's control over content, material and size. In this near or far distabce, we can find a sense of poeticism in Gao Weigang's work. Like an abstract narrative, It cannot be easily interpreted, yet it resonates with the simplicity of its expression. This is precisely in line with Gao Weigang's consistent creative philosophy, which is to tell simple truths through ordinary objects.
One in A Billion is like throwing countless dice into the air, it's about some kind of chance collision, a seemingly non-existent probability. Gao Weigang maintains a romantic vision underneath the seemingly rational, calm and even barren scenes he presents, seeking the only possibility. Possibility of what? There is no single answer, just a moment unique to each individual in a solidified and highly uniform perception.
