The Taste of Staring

Wang Liyou’s solo exhibition The Taste of Staring marks the artist’s second solo exhibition at Keyi Gallery, following The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. It also serves as a retrospective and extension of his experiences studying and living abroad over the past year or so.

Wang Liyou’s creation initially focused on the interest and fantasy construction of bourgeois images, gradually shifting towards the focus on the power structure in images, especially the exploration of the relationship between “gaze” and “being gazed upon”. Images in his pen are not only visual symbols of consumption, but also manifestations of desire itself.

In this exhibition, the artist continues his usual creative approach – through the cutting and reconstruction of images, the arrangement and accumulation of brush strokes, and the sweet colors, attempting to extract sensory memories that are familiar but difficult to express in the gaps of gaze. These memories are not only about vision, but also involve deep structures about identity, body, desires, and disciplinary mechanisms.