Chongqing - The "Sparkles", an Invitational Exhibition for New Media Artists from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and the Greater Bay Area" opened on November 23 at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute(SCFAI) Art Museum in Southwest China's Chongqing.

Chen Jiazhi, "Chìchù," 1000x400cm, Animation Installation, 2024. (Photo/Sichuan Fine Arts Institute)

This exhibition, focusing on new media art, explores the intersections of digital intelligence, art, and technology through three thematic sections: "Variations of Halo and Enchantment with Code," "Evolution of Digital Intelligence and Disenchantment with Technology," and "Algorithmic Siphoning and Re-enchantment with Embodiment."

Sun Lin, "Paradise," 8-minute VR Interactive, 2021. (Photo/Sichuan Fine Arts Institute)

The exhibition features works from 26 groups of artists and presents 36 pieces that span a range of creative expressions. The event aims to foster cross-regional, interdisciplinary dialogue and explore new paradigms for advancing art in the digital era. 

"In the face of the accelerating digital wave and the deepening Digital China strategy, the integration of culture and technology has become the core path to enhancing the country's cultural soft power. As a cultural hub in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, Chongqing's cultural dialogue with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is not only a strategic demand for regional development but also a key practice in exploring artistic innovation in the age of digital intelligence," said Professor He Guiyan, academic director of the exhibition and Director of the Art Museum at SCFAI.

Chen Junyi, "The Moon Palace and the Laurel Plus," Dimensions Variable, Multimedia, 2024. (Photo/Sichuan Fine Arts Institute)

Guiyan elaborated on the profound transformations in art creation: "Art creation is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Technology has long surpassed its role as a mere tool, becoming the key force reshaping the essence of art. From visual matrices constructed from digital pixels to aesthetic landscapes generated by AI algorithms, art creation has broken through the traditional material boundaries and entered a fluid 'post-organic' space constructed by data encoding."

Wang Yimo, "Rhapsody of the Human World," Dimensions Variable, Experimental Animation, Photography, Video, Manuscripts, Installation, 2021. (Photo/Sichuan Fine Arts Institute)

Li Fang, the exhibition's curator and Deputy Director of the Art Museum at SCFAI said, "Unlike previous one-way human creation, new media art integrates, creates, stores, extracts, and disseminates artistic information through a digitalized, interdisciplinary approach. Fusing humans, machines, and objects has created a new dual-production model combining inorganic AI and organic humanity."

Li said this exhibition reveals new possibilities of re-enchantment, from deconstruction to construction, from concealment to revelation, as well as the decentralization of the creative subject, nonlinear narrative structures, and multimedia communication.

As digital technologies evolve, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the transformative power of new media art and its role in shaping the future of artistic expression and cultural exchange in the digital era.