Framing growing cultural connections

The exhibition's opening ceremony on April 20 was attended by Bertrand Lortholary, French ambassador to China, Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China, Christine Cayol, founder of Yishu 8, and Su Dan, the exhibition's curator.

"The spirit of Yishu 8 lies in the need of an equal and free dialogue between China and France," says Cayol, a French writer and philosopher, who has lived in China for more than 20 years and founded Yishu 8 in 2009.

"When this dialogue is led by artists, it resembles a tree bearing fruit. Sometimes, the fruits immediately come into fruition, but at others, they require the artists to delve deeper into their own cultural roots."

Chinese artist Huang Xiaoliang had two of his photography works displayed at the exhibition. Both are early works kept in Yishu 8's collections around 10 years ago, featuring the grayscale hues of Chinese ink paintings, processing techniques in digital art and an exploration of the concept of shadows.