'Staging Dunhuang:' Where ancient artifacts meet modern vision

"Staging Dunhuang," the opening exhibition of Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum, is on show through May 31, 2025.

Supported by Dunhuang Museum, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture Library, Institute of Art Engineering and Technology, China Academy of Art, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Russian State Hermitage Museum and Harvard Fine Arts Library, the exhibition consists of four parts: "History," "Nature," "Reproduction" and "Mind."

The exhibition features precious artifacts like the Bayeux Sutra, Beiliang Stone Pagoda and the Tang color-painted molded bricks of a human holding a camel on loan from different institutions around the world. Organizers are looking to initiate a conversation on the relationship between historical archives and artistic creation.

Through the perspectives of geography, nature, and technology, the exhibition aims to focus on the art of Mogao Grottoes as a model for the production of contemporary culture and visual experience.

The museum's exterior is reminiscent of Dunhuang's natural landscape with its wind-blown sand dunes and arched grottoes, echoing the aesthetic elements of Dunhuang's frescoes.

Its interior design is also impressive as it borrows elements of the natural scenery in Dunhuang. A meandering "mini mountain" made up of sand is placed in the center of the hall. By burning incense from Dunhuang, the whole exhibition hall is permeated with a special scent. Separate small rooms refer to Dunhuang caves, inviting visitors to "re-perceive" Dunhuang across time and geography.

The result combines the work of Dunhuang's nameless artisans with 20 contemporary artists such as Ding Yi and Ni Youyu.

"When mentioning Dunhuang art, we immediately think of the Mogao Grottoes," said Wu Hong, chief consultant of the exhibition, "But Dunhuang art is more than that. Dunhuang is a larger socio-geographical space. The Mogao Grottoes, a Buddhist cluster located 25 kilometers south of Dunhuang, is only one part of this geographic space."

With videos and interactive installations, the exhibition presents the profound and unique charm of Dunhuang culture. For example, Chen Zhihao and Zhou Zhenru use light and shadow to rediscover the Mogao Cave's "Lapa Lamp Burning Ceremony." Their work "A River of Stars" is based on a draft painted by the Russian Oldenburg expedition. The digital work revitalizes a moving scene from Dunhuang's history.

The exhibition is like an experiment in the creation of new realms and images through the juxtaposition and dialogue between the static and the dynamic.

Date: Through May 31, 2025, 10am–6pm

Venue: Dunhuang Contemporary Art Museum

Address: No.3 Bldg S., 1687 Changyang Rd 长阳路1687号长阳创谷南三楼

Admission: 98 yuan