The Existential Crisis

Intelligentsia Gallery is pleased to present, The Existential Crisis, a group exhibition with works by Li Zhengde, Li Tingwei, Jeff Miller & Drew Milligan, Camille Ayme and Jason Mena.

Born as a bourgeoisie response to a century of decadent and self-indulging optimism, existentialism reflected on the detrimental processes of capitalist society. A century later, this philosophical question possesses the capability to address a systemic stronghold over the means, systems and networks of knowledge, production and consumption; or in other words: contemporary life.

The art project with its distinctive tasks, acts both as mirror and amplifier of life’s disjunctions and challenges. Meanwhile, the existential crisis makes us wonder with both, excruciating seriousness and lighthearted humour: what does it mean to ask an existential question today?

Borrowing its title from Jeff Miller and Drew Milligan’s humorous reflection on a heavy night of drinking, the exhibition rethinks the core values of existence, with life and art exchanging places as excess, boredom, consumerism, class, hedonism and self-consciousness expose the tendencies of today’s societies. By means of photographic documentation, sound and light installations and moving images, the exhibition immerses in a self-perpetuating paradox of depth and superficiality, simultaneously scratching the surface while digging deep on the core of a never ending existential crisis.