Codes of Tides (Shanghai)

Co-exhibitors:

Andy Lomas, David Cotterrell, Fabio Latanzi Antinori, Lu Sisi, Redblack D. Lawrence, RuoFan Chen, William Latham & Team, YongLiang Yang, YuXi Cao, Yue Zheng

“Codes of Tides – Shanghai,” which opened on December 12 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, is a multimedia exhibition blending data, technology, and visual poetry. It showcased artists from China and abroad working in video, installation, performance, photography, and painting. Ten artists, active in Shanghai and London, make use of Artificial intelligence and algorithms, not as cosmetic additions but as a substantive to their creative logic, creating an immersive experience which invites the spectators to re-interpret how technology alters and pervades the cadence of modern life, within a fragmented narrative. Instead of a passive display, the exhibition includes talks, in-person discussions and hands-on activities, giving the viewer different ways to participate and think further about the intersection of art and urban life.

The exhibition series opened in June along the Thames River in London, fostering an art-led exchange between Shanghai and London. 

The key concept of the exhibition revolved around the guise of 'waves', whereby it serves as a central symbol for movement and energy. It represents how things like information, technology, and emotions don't just sit still; they flow, fluctuate, and impact everything they touch. It argues that technology, information, location, and feelings are not separate and rather that they are all interconnected "waves" that crash together to shape our current reality, particularly relevant in a time where technology curves the boundaries between what is true.

Here, Cotterrell takes a more philosophical approach, displaying a series of holographic projections which take inspiration from rivers, particularly the River Thames, using a rivers' natural symbolisms and imagery as a key to stimulate a deeper understanding of our environment.

The exhibition was held at the Design Innovation Institute Shanghai, which also hosted the opening event.