Since the late 1960s, with the emergence of Minimalism, the autonomy of the art object and the purity of each artistic medium have been under threat. Minimalist works reject illusion and virtuality, and they reject the isolated viewing of a single work, instead encouraging greater interaction with the surrounding environment. These works do not exist in an isolated space defined by a frame or pedestal but instead share time and space with the viewer. Therefore, their effect is more akin to that of a theater performance rather than a sculpture, as Michael Fried has suggested. From this point on, the placement of the work and its relationship to the surrounding space became more important than the image of the work itself. To document exhibitions, a new form of "installation photography" emerged, which drew attention to the totality of the space that encompassed the works on display. The entire space itself could be considered an "installation work." The emergence of this term also led to an increased emphasis on the importance of exhibition layout, as Claire Bishop noted: "Simple, block-like sculptures connect and activate the space, creating a unified overall impression." It can thus be argued that the basic visual and sensory logic of contemporary art curating and exhibition design was formed at this time.

From the above discussion, we can summarize three flows of value: from image to installation; from work to field; from "archive" to the medium that carries the archive. The works of artist Sun Xiaochen exemplify the overlap of these three flows of value. The core issues that Sun Xiaochen has explored in recent years are particularly reflected in these three aspects, especially in the relationship between "archive" and the transformation and carrying of the "medium." The free crossing of media has become an essential skill for every contemporary artist, particularly for those with a background in sculpture. Sun Xiaochen starts with the intrinsic and conceptual languages of sculpture, particularly excelling in the use of ceramics, while stone and Han white jade, which are similar to traditional sculptural materials, are also frequently employed. In the process of medium transformation, the artist has deeply pondered cutting-edge issues in media theory, particularly the relationship between the medium that carries information and the information (or symbol) itself.

In his new work Screen Research, Sun Xiaochen uses black stone as the basic material and presents images on the screen (such as old films and classic works) using the traditional method of shadow carving in stone. At the same time, he applies overlaying and color filtering effects. When viewed through red and blue filter glasses, the flat images on the stone-carved screen appear in three dimensions. By presenting the object itself through de-functionalized and heterogeneous materials, the material form of the old television interferes with the inherent properties of the stone, and the retinal illusion displayed on the screen further disrupts the original nature of the medium. This dual interference closely aligns with Boris Groys’s concept of the “sub-medium space.” The theorist Boris Groys extends the basic logic of museum exhibition and collection to the issue of the "archive," and then relates the archive to its preservation and the medium that carries it. Groys proposed the term "sub-medium space," which suggests that the information displayed by the medium interferes with the judgment of the medium itself, hiding the truth of the medium. The ambiguous space behind the surface of the archival medium is what he calls the "sub-medium space."

In Sun Xiaochen’s Other 7, the rubber hose connecting the showerhead approaches the concept of sub-medium space. Its presence further conceals the true attributes of the medium. In Seeing the Subtle and Knowing the “Building”, the sub-medium space is represented by the porcelain plate supporting the “tool” behind it. In Insight•Observation, the sub-medium space is suggested through the metal frame. Returning to the Screen Research series, the sub-medium space almost erodes the medium itself, as the symbolic hegemony of the screen severely interferes with the symbol carrier. "Only when the symbol is extinguished or removed will the true nature of the medium displayed on the symbol immediately emerge." In Sun Xiaochen’s works, the so-called "truth of the medium" remains obscured because the deceptive nature of the heterogeneous materials almost completely interferes with the essential properties of the medium. We can observe that in this series of works, the objects that can be seen as sub-medium spaces are all supports, such as frames, pedestals, and stands, which are hidden behind the main medium. It is their existence that enables the exhibition to be realized. It is these “accessories” behind the medium that determine how the work is suspended and presented. In a specific spatial context, they become "installations."

In the Supports/Surfaces movement of the 1960s, artists extracted the materials beneath the surface of the works, such as frames and supports, or removed the surface and displayed only the supports, or removed the supports and left the limp surface. Through these methods, they reflected on the basic conventions of art exhibition and extended this to critique the gallery/museum system. Combined with the specific social context of the time, this critique addressed capitalist cultural institutions and the mechanisms of exchange and circulation. In fact, this also entered and extended the social considerations of sub-medium space. Similarly, Sun Xiaochen’s series of works reevaluates the issue of presenting installation art through sub-medium spaces. From the spatial arrangement of the rubber hose connecting the “showerhead” in Other 7, to the mutable mutual viewing field in 洞鉴·旁观, and from the production process of the works to the information the works convey, all require specific curatorial management and socialized collaboration to be established. In these works, the "supports" are not only the displayed objects but also socialized sub-medium spaces.

In contemporary installation art exhibitions, the informational meaning of symbols has actually been weakened, and what becomes more important is the display value of the medium itself. As Groys suggests, exhibiting in the form of a medium is the prerequisite for a symbol to fully acquire meaning. The displayability of a symbol is determined purely by technical operations, such as the construction, wiring, and assembly in contemporary art exhibitions, especially in certain installation works. These technical steps can often be more complex and labor-intensive than the information conveyed by the work itself. Given this premise, contemporary art exhibitions require collaboration on a broader societal scale. Media space is not only a physical space but often refers to a social field as well. The term "field," as defined by Pierre Bourdieu, refers to "a network or configuration of objective relationships existing between various positions," which is constituted by the objective historical relationships between positions that are attached to certain forms of power or capital.

It is worth noting that in his installation Other 7, Sun Xiaochen further transforms the media space (from metal objects to Han white jade). The visual symbols' implied information becomes displaced, and the rubber hose, as a sub-medium space, further hints at this displacement. In his exhibition, the location of the display and the spatial power involved in the curatorial process obscure the real nature of the medium, while the field created by the work forms a network of relationships for the medium. In Sun Xiaochen’s Insight•Observation, this network of relationships is further emphasized by the logic of seeing and being seen, with the viewer's intervention strengthening the social production properties of the media environment.

Through the transformation and substitution of mediums, Sun Xiaochen’s works conceal the medium itself, disguising it as an equivalent visual cue, thus entering the sub-medium space. Moreover, through the power dynamics of the media field, the works enter the consideration of social space, rethinking the logical relationship between the support (foundation) and the surface. This, in turn, touches on the core and foundation of contemporary installation art exhibition, namely the flow of value between the medium and the field.

Text:Yuan Gao