Open Home exhibition at Studio One TOI TŪ ( 16 May – 13 Jun 2024 )

欢迎光临寒舍，在这您可畅所欲言，还可小酌一杯，希望有空常来坐坐。
Welcome to my home. Let’s have a chat and a drink or two. Feel free to drop by.

Home is where dreams, thoughts, and memories unfold. Reflecting on life in Auckland's bustling CBD, XU's artwork invites individuals to pause, observe, and wander through the space, navigating the line between daydreams and reality. It echoes the refuge depicted by Chinese poet Tao Yuanming in his poem "Drinking Wine, Part Five", wherein he describes, "I built my cottage within the realm of men, yet it remained serene, untouched by the noise of chariots and horses...".

The evening sunset

山 气 日 夕 佳

The Mountain

开门见山

The Resting Cloud

一片小憩的云

My house is built amid the world of men, yet with no sound and fury do I ken.

结 庐 在 人 境，而 无 车 马 喧。

The Shack

寒舍

My Single-Bed Room exhibition at Window Gallery ( 27 March – 01 May 2024 )

Inspired by the compact apartment living style in Auckland CBD, ‘My Single-Bed Room’ is built on the idea that the room is not merely a physical structure. It also has its imaginary dimensions in our memories, secrets, intimacy, daydreams, and emotional connections. It encourages the audience to explore the essence of home, and a sense of belonging. ⁠

My Single-Bed Room

My Single-Bed Room

My Single-Bed Room Close-Up

The Garden Of Conjectures, Empathy Exhibition at Upstairs Gallery

Who Am I, Sexual Desires, Faith, Truth Searching, Fear of Success, Unfulfilled Libido, Fear of Separation, Self-Sabotaging, Happy-Ending Longing, Unhappy Marriage, Exploring the Unknown, Fear of Change, Psychological Intimacy, Sovereignty Fighting. A collection of friends and family, lovers and strangers, symbols, objects, and places (New Zealand, Beijing, Xinjiang). Things are trivia for us, matter to others. We are continuously trying to work through a way to resolve or prove them.

Form #5

Form #10

Form #1

Form #12

Form #11

Form #14

Form #15

Form #16

Form #2

Form #3

Form #7

Form #8

Form #9

No. 29 Beijing North Road, Ürümqi, Xinijang, China

Memory has always been one of greatest resources of inspiration and places to visit for me. In this project, I have been studying and researching my own memory of my parents' apartment in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. Unlike the usual paintings of memories painted from the actual photographs, I am more interested in depicting my own psychological feelings and experience of the place.

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 1

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 2

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 3

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 4

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 5

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 6

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 7

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 8

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 9

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 10

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 11

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 12

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 13

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 14

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 15

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 16

No. 29 Beijing North Road Ürümqi – 17

Form #17

The Sympathy of Curves Exhibition at Depot Artspace

The series is inspired by the Seigaiha motif. Originally used to depict the sea on ancient Chinese maps; it was then adopted by Japanese for use as patterns. Seigaiha is a Japanese word pronounced ‘Seikaiha’ (青海波); the word literally means big sea waves. As a traditional Japanese pattern, it appears on Japanese ceramic cookware, fabric and wallpaper and symbolises good fortune and happiness. Oliver has created his own patterns by inventing a system of rules. All the curves are free, not in the sense of departing, but finding each other, holding onto each other, being able to feel and move in relation to each other. The structures are created by the movements of these curves.

Seigaiha Series – Embrace

Seigaiha Series – Connection

Seigaiha Series – Congregate

Seigaiha Series – Understanding

Seigaiha Series – Camaraderie

Seigaiha Series – Congeniality

Seigaiha Series – Tenderness

Seigaiha Series – Aliance

Seigaiha Series – Affection

Flag-it! Exhibition at Depot Artspace

Why do we need a flag? According to research, flags have been used as a form of communication for more than 4,000 years, initially for military purposes and then evolved to represent political parties and countries. But is a national flag really able to represent its country’s culture, the people and the place? To me, a flag is a form of an abstraction, a code of encryption. This flag is generated by a self-made software populated with the English text of the Treaty of Waitangi (Feb, 1840). The colours are taken from the current New Zealand National flag as well as the proportion. The software goes through the text, replaces a verb with a red square, a noun with a white square, the rest of POS (parts of speech) with a blue square and throws everything else away.

Happy Day All In One

FAT 32

Avocado Mouse

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Reflecting on the power outages in Auckland City, New Zealand in the last few years, I took this photo on the tallest structure in Auckland, Sky Tower. It Looks right over the waterfront area and the harbour bridge, which connects Auckland CBD to North Shore.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Self Portrait