Xi Li （李曦）
Spirit Ether
The work 'Spirit Ether' examines the social reality that people are dominated by capital logic under modernity's contradictions. The work unfolds in a non-linear narrative structure, depicting the modern social form and spiritual civilisation to present a panorama of capital logic rule full of visual symbols and dazzling scenes.
Using visual representation as a bunker to achieve a comprehensive attack on, and a subversion of capital logic, the purpose of 'Spirit Ether' is to use capital logic to criticise itself through the characteristics of image narration. This is also my stimulating attempt under the domination of capital logic.
Capital logic's mode of production is expressed as 'Consumerism': its ruling form as 'Society of the Spectacle' and its propagation mechanism as 'Pseudo Environment'. Under the interaction of the three, popular urban culture has a rich life tension, and a strong aggressiveness, forming a global cultural structure centred on the metropolis.
The urban landscape is presented as the concreteness of architecture and the distortion of scale. The prosperity of mechanical reproduction makes the relationship between reality and imitation a complicated and irreconcilable issue. The world is no longer flat or three-dimensional, but multidimensional and dreamy, presenting endless symbolic meanings, and expressing the dreamy vision of infinite time and space.
Fetishism of the new era not only enhances people's life interests but also suppresses people's real desires, making humans appear to be extremely isolated during this period of history.
After breaking away from the real world, we are greeted by the collapse of the boundary between the simulation and reality. It is difficult for people to make a clear distinction between the two.
Capital logic is the material and spiritual power that dominates all areas of modern life; the radiant light and the spirit ether that guides the human heart.
