aaajiao / XU Wenkai

Active online as a media artist, blogger, activist and programmer, aaajiao is the virtual persona of artist Xu Wenkai. Born in 1984—the title of George Orwell’s classic allegorical novel—and in one of China’s oldest cities, Xi’an, aaajiao’s art and works are marked by a strong dystopian awareness, literati spirits and sophistication. Many of aaajiao’s works speak to new thinkings, controversies and phenomena around the Internet, with specific projects focusing on the processing of data, the blogsphere and China’s Great Fire Wall. aaajiao’s recent projects extend his practice to various disciplines (among them, architecture, topography, and design) to capture the pulse of the young generation consuming cyber technology and living in social media. aaajiao has shown his works at Cairo Biennale 2019; Shenzhen Independent Animation Biennale 2016; Beijing Media Art Biennale 2016; Globale: Global Control and Censorship, ZKM, 2015; National Art Exhibition, Today Art Museum, 2014.

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“404” is the error message which appears on blocked websites in China. Translating the digital message back into analog form, 404404404 is aaajiao’s subtle commentary on censorship and the flow of information in our digital culture. The message is always the same, no matter the diversity of content it is covering from view. Entirely site-specific, this work takes a new form with each installation; multiplying the message 404 in a diversity of forms and contexts. – Dr. Rachel Rits-Volloch

In the initial stage of creation, the works featured in the exhibition were created on aaajiao’s computer in the form of application, and then presented in different exhibitions using media such as video installations and videos as carriers. This time, they will be resurrected on the Internet through URL. Media content will continue to be upgraded and outdated, but URLs will never die. These works will be spread and experienced by “Players” around the world, flowing in an infinite virtual world. As the artist said: “Perhaps when everything can be quantified as a data stream, URL is the greatest right we can hold. URL is love and freedom.”