Hyundai
About the Exhibition
LI Jie’s Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech 2018 exhibition, Boat on Land, responded to the theme “Social Mobility,” focusing on how physical movement through space influences artistic creation and collaboration.
Faced with changes in social mobility due to man-made and environmental factors, artists have adapted their approaches to social issues, identity, and the ways they engage with sites of social strife. Boat on Land explores these novel approaches of artistic creation, uncovering ways artists embrace interaction, cooperation, and immersive observation within their environment.
Boat on Land brought together a range of projects from the 1990s to recent years, encompassing individual and group efforts, and site-specific works. This included larger projects made in collaboration with the public, like Xiong Wenyun’s “The Flowing Rainbow” (1998-2001), in which the artist collaborated with truck drivers on the Sichuan-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet highways, advocating for the protection of the world’s highest plateau. Similarly, Chen Jianjun and Cao Minghao’s “Water System Museum” (2015) explored the impact of modern interventions to Sichuan’s water systems, facilitated by active engagement from riverside communities.
Other projects saw artists physically engaging with their environments, showing the tangible effects of moving through spaces on social and natural landscapes. In Xing Xin’s “Meditation on Floating Ice” (2010), the artist attempted to alter the natural water cycle by transporting ice from the Yangtze River to an estuary in Shanghai, showing the impact of mobility on natural systems. In “A Tree” (2012) SAZ transports a tree from Beijing to Xinjiang, a journey of self-discovery and identity construction through physical movement.
The exhibition space itself was transformed into a landscape of waves and hills, inviting visitors to explore freely. The designed environment, consisting of hidden paths and narrow passageways, facilitated unique interactions with the art. Integrating natural elements, light, and shadow, Boat on Land offered a vibrant exploration of artistic innovation in the context of social mobility.
Participating Artists
CHEN Qiulin
CHEN Jianjun & CAO Minghao
HE Junyan
LIU Chengrui
LI Yongzheng
PU Yun
SAZ
XING Xin
XIONG Wenyun
About the Curator
LI Jie is a curator who has worked at the A4 Contemporary Art Center in Chengdu and the A4 Art Museum in Chengdu’s LUXELAKES Eco-City. LI has organized exhibitions, community-based local art projects, and the iSTART children’s art festival. In 2012, the Goethe Institute selected him for the 13th Kassel Documenta Curator Communication Project in Germany and the following year, he was a resident at the Yokohama Creative City Art Center in Japan, where he continued to explore collaborative urban art practices. In 2014, the Japan Foundation invited LI to their young curator exchange program. That same year, he was honored with the Asian Cultural Council's Cai Guoqiang Fellowship.
About the Program
Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech
Initiated in 2017 by Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Blue Prize has supported emerging curators through Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech in China and Hyundai Blue Prize Design in Korea. Since its launch, Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech has recognized and nurtured emerging curators in China, providing a platform to engage with the international art scene and develop innovative curatorial perspectives. The program has also served as a valuable training ground for curators across diverse fields. In 2025, the initiative evolved into Hyundai Blue Prize+, expanding its scope to transcend boundaries, cultivate interdisciplinary research, and foster transcultural conversations.
