Grids and Stones 言與物  presents landscapes as cultural self-portraits, where the physical environment becomes a coded depiction of the artists and of their time. The curation of this exhibition is inspired by the discursive binaries often used to describe ‘landscape’ in art history, such as  ‘shan shui’ (‘mountains waters’ 山水) or ‘figure-ground’. In this exhibition, artworks are subtly organised as ‘grids and stones’, or ‘yan’ and ‘wu’ (‘word’ and ‘thing’ 言與物’. The ‘grid’ functions as a symbol for creating space, as well as the rationalist desire to quantify it. This is a precarious mathematical ideal because it can both create a new world, but also overwrite all other potential worlds. ‘Yan’ (‘word’ 言) can describe, define and communicate our thoughts, but just like how a set of instructions will both teach and demystify a magic trick, ‘yan’ can overwrite the thought and colonise its meaning. The ‘stone’ is the counterpart in this exhibition, and is also referred to as ‘wu’ (‘thing’ 物).  The stone inhabits the space that we have created, as the object of fantasy. It is the organic object we stare at, and project desires of the natural world; it is the irrational guest of the rationalised host.

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Grids and Stones 言與物 is an exhibition about landscape, conceived by conversations between passionate enthusiasts. By accommodating variations in cultural backgrounds and artistic concerns, it celebrates the space where differences overlap, where opinions can be shared, and where mistranslations can inspire new ideas.