Satellite Voices

Paris

Li Wei at Parc de la Villette

August 13

The brilliantly surreal Chinese artist's open air exhibition in Paris

• Text by Satellite Voices

Guest Feature by Ingrid Melano

Li Wei was born in 1970 in China, from the Hu Bei Province. He grew up in Beijing, where he now lives and works. He combines several artistic mediums such as performance, photography, installation and video and since 2004, his works have been presented in solo and group exhibitions in the East and across various European countries, to international fame.

Taking advantage of a sunny day in Paris, we put on swimsuits and sunglasses and went on a tour of the open air exhibition by Li Wei at Parc de la Villette.

Li Wei plays with strange situations, his work is irrational, always carried out by a desire to embody weightlessness. These exercises require levitation devices combining mirrors, wire ropes and acrobatics. The results are explosive with humour. At the intersection of the physical achievement and the frozen image, the photographic gestures of Li Wei are scattered throughout the park.

The most exciting aspect of the exhibition, besides the incredible space of the park and rich, colourful 90s installations, is how the photos, and the wood panels that support them, perfectly complement the natural environment of la Villette. We saw people sunbathing, playing, chatting, dancing, reading and even singing around the Chinese artist's photographs.

Contemporary photographer Li Wei, is known worldwide for his unique way of utilising space. Alone or accompanied, people in his portraits assume confusing positions: both arms hang from a lamps, leaping into the air or chased by missiles.