After the lengthy preparation and detailed arrangement regarding the exhibition site, the delivery of various artworks, the online publicity among social media, and the curate of site design, diagram, and exhibition theme, The Preserver finally reached great success on our first offline art exhibition in late May 2023.
It was named “Introspection” (as the theme as well) after a series of brainstorming. From my perspective, “introspection” represents our goal and symbolizes the “supposed” relationship between humans and nature:
Human civilization developed at an insanely dramatic speed in the past 50 years, and they were constantly thinking, doubting, making assumptions about facts, and taking action to test them. However, what we haven’t thought of and should be in progress is introspection—introspection on our own to seek the inner problem and explore a solution to the urgent problems flowing on the surface. Environmental pollution is one of the problems: global warming, animal extinction, and chemical element leakage……they are pervasively everywhere right now at every corner of the earth. According to Socrates, the moral truth is based on the power to consciously examine inner thoughts and minds, which is introspection. His student Plato also claimed that human purpose was determined by reasoned introspection. With environmental problems turning serious and forcing us to pay irresistible attention to them that we need introspection—an introspection on the atrocities we’ve done and methods to solve them. This is an introspection from all of our teenagers or young friends who are concerned about environmental questions and striving to tell the world that nature is crying but humans haven’t stopped. This exhibition serves for making and showing introspection about damage to the environment, as well as provide a platform for young people to express, call to action, spread consciousness, and say what they want to say about all the destructive events happening in the world.
This exhibition is not only an attempt to introspect but also a way of protest considering the perspective of nature—The Preserver and its members hold pens and canvas, creating numerous pieces of both imaginative and realistic works, holding their tiny little power to protest against the pollution, carbon emission, overuse of resources……and all the ignorance of human beings toward these problems.
We are also glad and grateful that everyone was there one night celebrating, the artists, the authors, the painters, the writers, the musicians, and the audience—our venue was super crowded just like our happiness which filled the house with laughing and music and conversations.
It was the last night of the exhibition that I stood in front of the corridor which was illuminated by the light color of paintings on the wall and seemed to see the dying whale drowned in colorful trash swimming from the canvas to the street—and I was standing there until it flew with freedom further and further away that I could never see.
