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‘KI$$ KI$$’ Spotlights Three Decades of Shu Lea Cheang’s New Media Genius

BBG News

Shu Lea Cheang’s bold, futuristic perspective is dominating Munich’s Haus der Kunst with the exhibit KI$$ KI$$, marking her first institutional survey. This exhibition, referred to as an “experience machine,” guides visitors on a multi-sensory adventure through Cheang’s groundbreaking work that solidified her role as a trailblazer in the realm of new media art.

The show explores over three decades of work from 1994’s film “Fresh Kill” up to the present, encompassing video, installation, performance, and cinema. It engages with software installations, online interactions, and multiplayer performances, turning each gallery into a unique universe that invites us to reevaluate the boundaries between physical reality and the digital world in a playful manner.

The museum describes her work as a preliminary draft or practice session en route to a film. The exhibit emphasizes mise-en-scène, where various pieces aren’t presented individually but instead harmonize to create landscapes that visitors can leisurely wander through and interact with.

Scattered within the narrative of “KI$$ KI$$” are fragments of debris, serving as a bridge between biological and digitally enhanced environments: Home Delivery permeates the atmosphere with aromas of home-cooked meals while a robotic appendage stacks takeout containers, whereas Entrance to the Following transforms a traffic accident into an artistic experience, underscoring the risks associated with our culture’s unquenchable thirst for speed.

Originally hailing from Taiwan, this artist found a fertile ground for her career in New York during the 1980s, as she became an integral part of the emerging new media and independent film industry. Constantly pushing boundaries, Cheang’s work delves into areas such as biotechnology, live television broadcasting, and alternative monetary systems, thereby continuously expanding the horizons of digital culture while consistently challenging societal norms.

KI$$ KI$$ is now on view through August 3, 2025.

Haus der Kunst
Prinzregentenstraße 1,
80538 München, Germany

 

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2025-02-21 21:26

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