aaajiao is the code name of a programmer and a media artist, whose artworks focus on the cybersphere, its trending visual patterns, and the user base it generates. His recent works explore the convergence of China’s internet culture and the post-COVID-19 amnesia, examining viral content and memes as fragmenting tools that remould subjectivity and the individual’s perception of reality. At the entrance to HKW’s Mrinalini Mukherjee Hall sits Guard, I… (2024–25), a hyperrealistic sculpture of a security guard in uniform. Modelled after the artist’s face, the guard falls asleep while on duty. Inspired by the online advertisements of silicone security guards as a replacement for real personnel, the sculpture portrays a typical low-paid, long-hour job in China’s urban space, performed mainly by rural migrants. Despite the disadvantage, the security guards still represent a trace of institutional authority, especially during COVID-19 lockdowns when they became implementers of government control over the immobilized residents. The sleeping security guard is, thus, a playful representation of a paradoxical condition of being vigilant and dormant, urban and rural, powerful and powerless. It expresses a silent yet potent act of resistance to productivity and to the grind of control enforcement, performed by a worker of the surveillance apparatus. In Minority Algorithm (2023–24), aaajiao compiles video clips from cyberspace, including real-life drone attacks and video games, surveillance footage with object recognition systems, and protest scenes. They explore the flattening and fragmenting effect that digital culture has on reality. In the video on display, the artist employs Japanese anime figures to outline the void—the amnesia and aphasia—created by the overabundance of images and words.

Works in the exhibition: Guard, I… (2024–25), installation, silicone, fibreglass, artificial hair, clothing, seat, 75 × 75 × 140 cm; Minority Algorithm (2023–24), internet void, 1-channel video, color, sound, 17' 16'. Made possible with the collaboration of Xucong, Tan Shuoxin, Jinyu, and Cine. Courtesy of the artist