Tang Contemporary Art is pleased to announce that on October 24, 2025, the solo exhibition “SKIRUA’s Abyssal Enchantress’s Box” by Gen-Z artist SKIRUA will open at the Seaside Rehearsal Hall of Aranya, Beidaihe New District. The exhibition will feature seven newly completed large-scale multimedia sculptures and paintings, marking another breakthrough following her debut solo exhibition “SKIRUA: The Sky Today Is Really Too Blue” in 2020, when the artist was seventeen, and the 2023 Tang Contemporary Art Beijing Headquarters Space solo show “SKIRUA’s Future Paradise.”

 

In conjunction with the exhibition, Tang Contemporary Art will host a press conference in Beijing at 3:00 PM on October 18 at 798 ART FOCUS, and warmly welcomes all guests to attend.

 

In the seaside rehearsal hall of Aranya, post-00s artist Guo Yuheng (SKIRUA) emerges like a mysterious "deep-sea enchantress," weaving an emotional enchantment with her brushes and installations in a showcase titled "SKIRUA’s Abyssal Enchantress’s Box." This is more than an exhibition—it is a dive into the dungeon of the subconscious sea, a secret memory box housing fragmented emotions, and a ritualistic inquiry into the forms of self-existence for Generation Z.

​

SKIRUA’s art explores the multiplicity of identity, the fluidity of emotion, and the materiality of memory. In her creative cosmos, the deep sea serves as a perfect metaphor for the inner self—a realm where, under immense pressure and darkness, a kaleidoscope of life thrives. The "Enchantress’s Box" is her emotional atlas, where each residing enchantress represents both a fragment of the artist’s own persona and a symbolic expression of the emotional structure of contemporary youth.

​

At the heart of the deep-purple exhibition space stands the large-scale installation "Octopus Deity," the sovereign of this abyssal domain. Its colorful tentacles, reminiscent of a fully unlocked skill tree, symbolize both the diversity of abilities and the far-reaching capture of emotions. SKIRUA embeds memories of time spent with friends as "dropped items" on its skirt, transforming intangible bonds into tangible coral reefs—each memory a collectible to be touched and held.

​

The "Mermaid Sisters," entangled in an intimate embrace, portray the ultimate bond of "you within me, me within you." This not only depicts closeness but also reflects an inner dialogue among different facets of the self, revealing how we are all composites of multiple influences, continuously shaping a fluid identity through internal exchange.

​

In stark contrast stands "Girl in the Cylinder," a figure forever confined within a fishbowl. SKIRUA astutely captures the paradoxical psyche of her generation: a sense of suffocation coexisting with an odd comfort found in limitation. This piece projects not only the artist’s own vulnerability but also a shared sentiment of the post-pandemic era—a time when self-imposed boundaries become shelters in an uncertain world.

​

The paintings A Sumptuous Banquet and My Body Is Filled with You elevate this inner dialogue to a metaphysical plane. Here, SKIRUA explores the complete dissolution of boundaries between self and other—not merely "you within me," but "I am the one I love." Like isotopes endlessly converging across multiverses, they extend infinitely within the same being.

​

It becomes evident that SKIRUA’s work consistently investigates the forms of subjectivity within what may be called "liquid modernity." As Zygmunt Bauman noted, contemporary identity has shifted from a solid, unchanging state to a liquid, fluid condition. SKIRUA’s deep-sea enchantresses embody this liquid subject—shape-shifting freely, radiant under abyssal sea pressure, crafting a self-sufficient world within confinement. These enchantresses are not traditional villains but guardians of emotion, custodians of memory, and mediators of multiple selves. "SKIRUA’s Abyssal Enchantress’s Box" thus becomes a Foucauldian heterotopia—a differentiated space within real society. Stepping into this immersive seaside hall, the audience embarks on an expedition into the depths of their own inner oceans. SKIRUA masterfully transforms intimate emotion into public discourse, distilling the sensitivity and candor of Generation Z into visual fables of universal resonance.

​

In an era dominated by the attention economy, SKIRUA’s deep-sea enchantresses propose a counter-strategy: rather than chasing external noise, one might dive inward to explore the emotional abyss. Those feelings often dismissed as vulnerability and chaos are, in fact, wellsprings of creativity—much like deep-sea ecosystems that thrive not on external light, but on their own chemical synthesis. "SKIRUA’s Abyssal Enchantress’s Box" thus transcends the conventional exhibition, becoming a heterotopia that summons viewers into self-contemplation. As we step out of this seaside gallery, we carry away not just visual memories, but a key to unlock our own inner depths. Those long-hidden fragments of truth will, in due time, surface—reuniting us with the selves we are yet to become whole.

​

​

Text / Fiona Lu

​