Wang Wei 王卫

A scaffolding structure that betrays in scope its bird-trapping origins; an erected rectangular red brick wall built to then be demolished following a seventeen day period; a fully foliated panda house that one can peer into but not access. These are but worded examples of the immersive installations created by the Beijing-based artist Wang Wei (b. 1972). Conceived not so much as artworks but rather vehicles for situating artifice in the context of life, Wang Wei actively appropriates existing spaces and visual elements, which he then enlarges and adapts to a gallery setting. Through this intrinsic process of attack, engagement and decontextualisation, he questions the veracity of natural forms before fresh eyes and constructs windows for investigating new layers of meaning.