Neverlands and the End of the World

永无乡与世界尽头

Co-curated with Shengxu Jin.

Under a multidimensional impetus of historical forces, such as WWII and the Cold War, the narrative and historical implications of nuclear energy have undergone various evolutions. Classic characters in cinema history, such as Godzilla, were incubated as a proactive response to the traumas of World War II and the nuclear scares of the Cold War. However, in present times, circulations of such rhetorics eventually convolute with consumerism and capitalism overtones that appropriate nuclear fear into consumerist leisure.

The advancement of contemporary nuclear energy constitutes an almost inaccessible existence to the masses. Its development and production are secluded from human society. Yet, at the same time, the subject of nuclear energy is fictionalized and imagined in mass entertainment productions as a range of apocalyptic imageries, such as ruins, mutations, and human extinction, fabricated based on the fear of nuclear energy, fusing a ubiquitous apocalyptic aesthetic that is mass-produced.

Neverland and the End of the World use nuclear-related films and images as central archaeological mediums for its curatorial praxis. By dismantling and juxtaposing fictional films, official documents, and news images from different epochs of nuclear development, the exhibition attempts to exemplify the obscurity of nuclear fear, depicting the origin, mass circulation, production and reproduction of apocalyptic imaginations under the fear of nuclear energy. On the other hand, it also attempts to transcend a singular media lens, reinterprets the role of fiction intertwined with socio-historical realities and examines the complexity of nuclear fear and apocalyptic narratives.

This exhibition is part of the Curatorial Awards Exhibition at the 2022 JimeixArles International Photography Festival, and is generously supported by Three Shadows Photography Center.

“特定真理模式的构成并不是基于图像，而是基于图像复合体 —— 图像文化形式的流通渠道，生产模式，以及特定话语平台的展示与编码。” —— 梅格·麦克拉根 & 耶兹·麦基《感性政治：非政治行动主义的视觉文化》

从二战、冷战、到当代，在多维度的历史推动力之下，关于核能的叙事和历史意义不断经历着演变。如同电影史中的经典角色——哥斯拉，它的诞生是对二战创伤与冷战核恐惧的直接回应。然而直到当下，影像角色的演变以混杂着消费主义与资本主义的影子，从回应恐惧转变为消费恐惧。

实际上，当代核能的发展形成一种常人几乎无法触及的存在，它的生产被隐蔽于人类社会。于此相对的是大量有关核能的题材在电影工业生产的影像与电子娱乐游戏中被虚构和想象；废墟、生物变异、人类灭亡等一系列基于毁灭性的核力量叙事的末日图景形成一种符合现代观众的、可量产的末日美学。

《永无乡与世界尽头》以核能相关的影像与图像作为考古媒介进行策展实践，通过拆解和并置历史中的虚构电影、官方文档、新闻图像，营造出一种核危机的无处不在，以及不断升级的恐惧，描绘对核恐惧之下末日想象的起源、以及对此生产与消费的演变。另一方面，展览试图超越单一媒体的观点，重新解读虚构与真实的文化及历史, 从而审视核恐惧与末日叙事的复杂性。

这个展览是2022年集美阿尔勒国际摄影节策展人奖展览的一部分，并得到三影堂摄影艺术中心的慷慨支持。