During the past decade, Li Hui has become recognized for creating surreal and symbolic installations that involve themes of time, space and light. He uses these evocative installations to get the viewers to question the importance or their everyday life. Starting today, Sandra Gering INC. presents Ksana, a new exhibition by the artist, which will be his first exhibition with the gallery.
Ksana is the Sanskrit word describing an imperceptible fraction of time. Sanskrit is an ancient Indic language of India in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian languages are derived. It is used in these works to define the unobservable moment when opposites collide to create a new circumstance. This is a Buddhist philosophy at the heart of much of the artist’s work.
Previous work like In Reincarnation sees the Chinese artist use materials like fog, metal, medical bandages, and bright red laser lights flooding down from the ceiling to light up a bed frame directly underneath. As the light hits the air and moves across the bed surface a ghostly mist can be seen rising from the top of the bed. The general ambiance from the installation evoked an eerie feeling of uncertainty.
“I understand that there are elements in my works that might make people feel a little puzzled or even a little scared when first confronted with them. However, from what I have experienced, it is not just the strong visual impact, but also the ‘otherness’ or their mysticism that can have this kind of result.” Say’s Hui on his work.
Ksana is showcased in two examples. For the first installation Hui has turned the gallery’s main room into an explosive scene that focuses on the split second when a suspended 500 lb. tree trunk pierces a pristinely shattered mirror-finished steel surface. The result suspends time long enough for the viewer to contemplate the second these two implacable forces meet to create a third, something in everyday life we would never have time to fully take in.
Ksana, by Li Hui’s will be showing Sandra Gering INC from May 12, 2015 to June 27, 2015. 