Chongqing - Forget "Do Not Touch." At the Chongqing Contemporary Art Museum, visitors are encouraged to play. The exhibition A Brief History of Technology & Art in China, Chapter One: Computer-Based Art, which opened on December 26, invites the public into an interactive journey through three decades of digital creativity - from early desktop experiments to immersive virtual worlds.

The exhibition A Brief History of Technology & Art in China, Chapter One: Computer-Based Art, opened on December 26. (Photo/CQNews)

Charting the transformation of art in the digital age, the exhibition examines how accessible computing sparked new forms of expression. It showcases pioneering works from the 1990s, created on now-obsolete systems like MS-DOS and early Apple computers, alongside contemporary interactive installations powered by game engines and VR. What unites them is the artists’ drive to turn everyday technology into a medium for art.

Feng Mengbo's work "Long March: Restart." (Photo/CQNews)

"This isn’t just about viewing art - it's about entering it," notes one museum attendant, as visitors navigate digital landscapes using handheld controllers.

A centerpiece of the show is Feng Mengbo's Long March: Restart, an interactive game installation previously exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Inspired by his 1994 painting Game Over: Long March, which reimagined the Communist revolution through the aesthetic of 8-bit video games, Feng transformed the static image into a playable experience in 2009. Players traverse symbolic landscapes from the Long March, merging historical narrative with digital interaction.

Feng Mengbo is demonstrating how to operate the game to the audience. (Photo/CQNews)

Equally engaging is the VR section "Virtual Art Museum," presented by Shenzhen's Pingshan Art Museum. Here, visitors wearing headsets can manipulate virtual sculptures and see other attendees in real time, creating a shared social space within a digital gallery.

"In most VR experiences, you’re just a passive viewer," said Lin Ziqiao, a student from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. "But here I could actually pick up artworks and explore with others. It felt alive."

Visitors are experiencing the "Virtual Art Museum" VR installation. (Photo/CQNews)

The exhibition also highlights ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration between Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, featuring projects that blend coding, electronics, and mechanical design.

"We're at a point where technology isn't just a tool - it's part of the artistic language," said He Guiyan, Director of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Art Museum. "This exhibition is a step toward deeper dialogue about where art can go next."

A Brief History of Technology & Art in China, Chapter One: Computer-Based Art runs through January 26, 2026, with free admission at the Chongqing Contemporary Art Museum.