Nie Yurong

In our view, talking about perennial topicality means talking about our perception of time, history, and human interactions. As we considered this project a collective debate, we’d like to hear more about your ideas as well. What is your perception of perennial topicality? And which element of this idea do you think that the artwork that you presented wants to portray?

First of all, I am very happy to be able to share my work on this platform on this occasion, the work also represents at the same time a part of my thinking that bringing it out means an important departure for me. From my point of view, perennial topicality is an oxymoron: things change according to the changes in social models, so it is difficult to establish what is a continuous topicality. I have chosen one of the possible directions which is the legacy of violence, which is the focus of my work.

We are all the sum of our experiences, which shape our personality and perception. How did your personal history affect the creation of your artworks and in what way did you bring it into your project?

For a long period of time, I used to listen to RAI 24 [Italian news channel] every day, one or two hours a day, and almost every day a crime happened: murders, domestic violence, sexual violence, cyber violence, indiscriminate shooting, etc. I started to feel that these terrible facts have become daily and common and even have certain rationality. After the introduction of this topic, I immediately thought of this personal experience of mine and then make a work based on the reflection of this human psychology.

Due to the centrality of technology as well as the redefinition of our personal space, in these pandemic times the intimacy and the lack of it are now not only lived but conceived differently. How would you describe your perception of intimacy, relationships, and connection today?

Actually, I already knew that there is a part of the population living with the lack of intimacy and relationships, only with the arrival of the pandemic such group of people suddenly expanded, in my opinion even without the epidemic, human civilization is already heading towards a lonely life. I missed the relationship with neighbors when I was little, I missed the evening moments of Chinese New Year with relatives and friends, I sincerely feel that these connections have become rare and precious in today’s life.

What do you expect from the audience’s experience after viewing your work in this digital environment? How do you think that our endless consumption of digital contents is affecting the production and the fruition of artworks? Do you think the virtual exhibition experience will continue to be a possible tool for presenting your research?

The forms of contemporary artworks have evolved in various ways through the introduction of digital space, I hope the audience taking the role of the witness and detonation in my work can enjoy it. The digitization of art I would say is now a trend, digital communication can not only do promotion to an artist, rather convey their ideas to the audience quickly than traditional methods, however, but digital dimensions and real dimensions also are two completely different ways of perceptions, so what needs to be done is to provide a new perspective of thinking that only in a digital space can perceive, and I would like to continue to explore and create in this area.