“Burgeoning” is a dynamic descriptor frequently used in the field of agricultural economics, referring to the rapid surge in crop yields or livestock herds, akin to bamboo shoots after rain. It also points to two distinct models of proliferation in cultural and natural domains—the parasitic propagation of memes and the differential replication of biological arthropods. The former perpetuates solidified entities, while the latter continuously expands new species. The key factor causing this divergence is time—the contrast between the billions of years of species evolution and the fleeting existence of human culture. Thus, if the time axis were aligned, the internal collapse (as viewed by Baudrillard as collapse and flattening) of cultural systems might also be seen as a movement that creates life. This exhibition is precisely about the duality of such informational proliferation—surging phenomena always evoke weariness and numbness, yet simultaneously captivate and irresistibly enthrall.
In the exhibition, the artists contemplate these works from diverse perspectives. First, we observe landscapes formed by the self-replicating elements of shared origins, such as the artist’s body (Yu Zeu), stones and forked bones (ZeLeo Zhao). These are elements meme-ified by the artists and used for proliferation, along with a Minesweeper game (Wen Shuyu) invaded and heavily altered by countless internet memes, and a green pepper UFO (Shao Annan) attempting to recruit others through jelly. Second, we also see the integration of biological fossil components with human technological parts, such as the fusion of arrowheads and mandibles, rhinoceros horns and iron spears, as well as a pair of asymmetric components resembling heterochirality (Xu Ziyi)—the thoracic vertebra and iron axe—alongside the dual-structured, homologous yet heteromorphic design of an exoskeleton and endoskeleton (Yang Xi). Finally, there is a third category where artists employ internal proliferation systems composed of wetware and humus-like sealed pools (Bill Wang Yi, Kai), using pungent odors and decay phenomena (ZeLeo Zhao’s blueberry) to reflect the challenges of constructing kinship. This section serves as a summation of contradictions: the coexistence of exponential growth and atrophy arises from the absence of an effective method to forge kinship, and all attempts to resolve it remain overly idealized. This also constitutes a response to Donna Haraway’s concept of “Co-flourishing” (mutual thriving).