I woke up. Another falling Lucifer. It is not safe to turn off your computer

  • I woke up. Another falling Lucifer. It is not safe to turn off your computer. I woke up. Another falling...

    I woke up.

    Another falling Lucifer.

    It is not safe to turn off your computer.

     

    I woke up. Another falling Lucifer. It is not safe to turn off your computer is the special project presented by See+ Gallery at the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival. The exhibition showcases Wang Juyan’s works from 2019 to 2025, featuring key pieces from Monument Zero, Project 2084 II, and A354 660 393. Through the memories constructed within these images, this exhibition invites us into the artist’s contemplations on the past and future, and his quest for the sublime.
     
    "Monument" is traditionally defined as "a structure built to commemorate a person or event, or one that, due to its historical, political, or architectural significance, becomes a symbol of a particular historical era for society." Upon closer examination, we find that the meaning of "monument" is constantly evolving.
     
    The Monument Zero series comprises the Victoria Memorial and the Wellington Arch in London, a 25mm Type 61 naval gun, a honeycomb-like metal sculpture, and The Monolith in Oslo. These silent, statuesque objects serve as physical embodiments of monuments while also acting as a medium for the artist to enquire into their deeper significance — “They stand quietly, mourning a history that has been assigned or imposed and bearing witness to the blood and tears inflicted by one civilization upon another.”
     
    In Project 2084, Wang Juyan re-examines the concept of empire in the modern era. As techno-feudalism becomes increasingly prevalent, the differential engines, signal amplifiers, and cipher machines featured assume the presence of emerging monuments—totems of the 21st century.
     
    In many ways, Project 2084 is not just an extension of Monument Zero but a fresh review of the grand human-historical narrative. The works span from the Brandenburg Gate to long-range surveillance radar, from television signal amplifiers to the Enigma machine. Together, these objects form a metaphor for empire—while traditional empires are fading, emerging technological sovereignties are seizing control of our consciousness.
     
    "The world is woven from myths and torment, conquest and symbiosis."
     
    Through techniques such as negative imaging, overlays, and inversion, Wang Juyan suspends these symbolic objects in a ghostly, intimate space, drifting in a state of contextual and space-time hesitation. This deeply personal and unidirectional intervention reveals a romantic yet recklessly determined heroism. The final three images in the exhibition come from Wang Juyan’s 2025 series A354 660 393, featuring the southern façade of the Reichstag building in Berlin, Russian olive trees, and the Lovell Radio Telescope.
  • ARTIST: Wang Juyan Wang Juyan is a photographer currently based in Beijing and London. His recent solo exhibitions include Monument...
    ARTIST: Wang Juyan
     
    Wang Juyan is a photographer currently based in Beijing and London.
     
    His recent solo exhibitions include Monument Zero (see+ gallery, 798 Art Zone, Beijing, 2025) and Uncharted+ (see+ gallery, OCT-LOFT, Shenzhen, 2023). His works have been featured in numerous international group exhibitions, including The Texture of Promises at Kutxa Kultur Artegunea, Tabakalera, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain (2022); China Showcase at Photo London, Somerset House, London (2022); Sur Terre - Image, Technologies et monde Naturel at Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, France (2020); A Change for the Unpredictable at Lianzhou Foto Festival, Lianzhou China (2019); On Earth at Atelier des Forges, Rencontres d’Arles, France (2019); Frankfurt: Young International Photography at Frankfurter Kunstverein (2018); Labs New Artist at Red Hook Labs, New York (2018); Foam Talent at Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands (2017); the Singapore International Photography Festival, Singapore (2016); and and was featured in Next Photographer Award at D&AD Festival, London (2016), among others.

  • Wang Juyan, Project 2084 II series, 2024. Archival Inkjet Print , 150 × 216 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Wang Juyan, Project 2084 II  series, 2024. Archival Inkjet Print, 150 × 216 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Wang Juyan, Project 2084 II series, 2024. Archival Inkjet Print, 150 × 216 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Wang Juyan, A 354 660 393 series, 2024–2025. Archival Inkjet Print, 150 × 180 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Wang Juyan, A 354 660 393 series, 2024–2025. Archival Inkjet Print, 150 × 180 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Wang Juyan, A 354 660 393 series, 2024–2025. Archival Inkjet Print, 150 × 180 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

  • see+ gallery
     
    see+ gallery is a photo gallery, established in Beijing 798 Art Zone in 2008, with branches established in Shenzhen OCAT and Chengdu Floating Headquarters in 2017 and 2023 respectively. The academic committee of which comprises famous photography critics and curators who are responsible for recommending and planning great photographers’ exhibitions.
     
    Since its inception, see+ has worked closely with important players in the world of photography, the famous critic A.D. Coleman and the famous collector Stephen White, to curate a series of important exhibitions, including: "World Photography History Collection Exhibition", "Edward Steichen Collection Exhibition", "F.C. Gundlach Retrospective", "From Pioneer to Contemporary - Czech Photography Exhibition", "Color Photography History Collection Exhibition", "Russian Photography History Collection Exhibition", "Made in Germany - German Photography from the 19th Century to Today" and "Japanese Master Photographers Exhibition" and other large-scale exhibitions, and a group of modern and contemporary Western photographers, such as Wynn Bullock, Jerry Uelsmann, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Ralph Gibson, Jan Saudek, Mary Ellen Mark, Maggie Taylor, Ivan Pinkava, Kate Breakey, Gabriela Morawetz, Eric Poitevin, Vaclav Jirasek, Miro Svolik and others have been successfully introduced to China. At the same time, it has also held exhibitions in China for many photographers from neighboring Japan, including Eikoh Hosoe, Masahisa Fukase, Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama, Kazumasa Suda, Hiroh Kikai and Masato Seto. So far, see+ has held solo and group exhibitions for more than 100 international photographers from the United States, Germany, France, Canada, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Poland and Japan.
     

    As a professional agency and marketing organisation, see+ gallery is dedicated to being a platform for the dissemination of fine arts. With the resources of first-class international curators and critics, see+ gallery often invites experts for lectures and seminars. An excellent academic background provides assurance of quality for both exhibitions and sales.

     
    While beginning to promote international art masters to China, see+ soon began to show and support young local contemporary Chinese artists such as Zeng Yicheng, Lu Yanpeng, Huang Xiaoliang, Yan Ming, Luo Dan, and Wang Juyan in galleries and internationally. Various exhibitions and prizes have gained international recognition, and their works have been widely collected by European and American collectors.

     

    www.seegallery.net seegallery@vip.126.com

     

    B10, 798 Art Zone, Chaoyang District, Beijing

     

    B3-101,North District OCAT, Nanshan District, Shenzhen

     

    1-1-701, Floating Headquarters, Shuangliu District, Chengdu