de Sarthe is pleased to present its third solo exhibition for the Beijing-based contemporary artist Liang Ban, titled, Pearl Rolling Across the Floor. Featuring a new series of video works as well as sculptural and photographic installations, the exhibition examines the shifting global socio-political landscape and attempts to refine the aesthetic of contemporary society through humorous allegories and symbolism. 

Liang Ban believes that in the current era mobile devices have evolved to become a “possessive technology”, that is one which has taken control of its users. In the same way that ships, planes, and cars influenced architecture in the early 20th century, the artist captures how mobile devices have influenced modern humanity. In the video works Caged Bird (2020) and On a Slow Boat to China (2020), the artist reenacts idioms using the icons of smartphone applications. Titled after Maya Angelou’s novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Liang Ban’s Caged Bird (2020) depicts the social media platform Twitter’s famed icon of a bird attempting to escape its screen. The bird flutters across a field of red and white stripes, only to discover that its effort has been in vain. While red and white stripes are associated with certain flags, the artist likens its banded pattern to a cage. On a Slow Boat to China (2020), conversely, shows an icon of a man in a boat, slowly struggling across the screen but never reaching its destination – a depiction its titular saying which is used as a metaphor for a long, unending journey.

Gallery address: 20/F, Global Trade Square, No. 21 Wong Chuk Hang Road