“Zigeng Wang: Inspirations from Filmmaking" The Cargo Micro Exhibition
On January 10, 2025, the exhibition “Zigeng Wang: Inspirations from Filmmaking" opened at The Cargo, accompanied by an opening talk. The discussion featured guests including Zigeng Wang, Liu Xiaodu, Niu Niu, Ma Lin, Wu Linshou, Zhu Rongyuan, Zhang Yuxing, Feng Guochuan, Liu Heng, and Zhu Tao. The exhibition, themed “Zigeng Wang: Inspirations from Filmmaking," showcases three installation works by PILLS: “Replica of 'Black Maria' Studio," “Black Maria," and “1994." These works draw inspiration from the language of cinema, merging imaging technology with spatial design. From the metaphor of green screen technology, the historical retrospection of images, to the reconfiguration of intimate relationships through virtual spaces, the exhibition explores how filmmaking has inspired installation design.
- Black Maria Recreated (2024) In 1893, Thomas Edison created the world’s first film production studio—Black Maria—in West Orange, New Jersey. The birth of Black Maria marked the shift of filmmaking from outdoor shooting to controlled indoor environments. PILLS, by replicating this prototype, explores the potential of space as a photographic device, and this also serves as the inspiration for PILLS' 2019 work titled “Black Maria."
- Black Maria (2019) “Black Maria” is an allegory of a space that is “not what it seems,” a space dedicated to producing falsehood, and in English, the term also refers to a “prison van." We adopt this name to indicate the borrowing of tools in film and, on the other hand, to use the model as a metaphor for the alienated relationship between systemic people and the supply system. The façade derived from the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining, where the writer‘s family is imprisoned.
- 1994 (2021) The installation originates from the time the artist spent with his father in childhood. Through the combined use of mechanics, imagery, interaction, and set design, the piece recreates fragments of memory. Using optical reflection principles, it overlays different virtual images within the scene, forming a narrative space that is related to but independent from the physical reality. The work begins with the artist’s personal father-son memories but also explores the cycles of dependence, opposition, reconciliation, and regret within familial relationships.
About The Cargo The Cargo is a non-profit experimental micro-space and art brand operated by LXD STUDIO, founded by Liu Xiaodu in 2021 in the OCT Creative Cultural Park, Shenzhen. The Cargo primarily focuses on creative projects such as art exhibitions, design, and academic activities. As a micro-entity art space, it aims to be a “window" for experimental art, extending its influence beyond the physical space.
Project Information Exhibition Title: “Zigeng Wang: Inspirations from Filmmaking" Exhibition Dates: January 10, 2025 – February 15, 2025 Exhibition Location: F1-104-107, South District, OCT Creative Cultural Park, Shenzhen Organizer: The Cargo Organizer's Team: LXD Studio Artist: Zigeng Wang Exhibition Design Team: PILLS \ Qiyu Qin, Shilin Liu, Fangni Wu, Chenyiao Liu Artwork Transport: Tiandi Zhongxing Art Services Construction: Lezao Art Project Management Photography: Bai Yu, Yao Ling, The Cargo
