INDEX: ÆTHER (Poor Objects)

Through the use of a ring light—a lighting device commonly used by content creators—and models, in ÆTHER, Shuang Li reflects on human subjectivity in the context of our constant engagement with an increasingly omnipresent online culture. In this work, the artist seeks to link the concept of imperfect transmission underlying the bodies of today’s society to an annular solar eclipse. The inverted relationship between the body and its representation on screen, as well as the concept of loss, are themes that form part of the piece’s narrative, which aims to encourage a reversal of the dematerialisation of physical bodies in our current circumstances.

Shuang Li lives and works in Berlin and Wuyi, China. She holds a Master’s degree in Media Studies from New York University. She works across various artistic genres — performance, interactive websites, sculpture and moving images. In her practice, she explores the diverse media that make up the contemporary digital landscape, the material lives that sustain it and, above all, the fissures between them.

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Full programme and further information about INDEX 2026 available at www.indexmediaarts.com