Prada presents “Distance of the Moon,” an exhibition by Shuang Li (b. 1990, China) with the support of Fondazione Prada. The exhibition will be on view from 6 November 2024 to 12 January 2025 at Prada Rong Zhai, a 1918 historic residence in Shanghai restored by Prada and reopened in October 2017 . “Distance of the Moon” is Li’s first solo institutional exhibition in Asia and feature s a series of new works conceived especially for Prada Rong Zhai .

As stated by Shuang Li, “Communication and technology have always inspired my works. When communication can only happen digitally, technology and algorithms become draconian, where everyone is flattened into pixels, and physical bodies are rendered helpless. Communicating with lo ved ones, especially parents, has always been challenging and it becomes harder in this context. All of t he tools that were supposed to make communication easier — instant messengers, video calls, stickers — have lost their magic , and actually create more distance . Words seem to lose their meaning when sent digitally . Texting became frustrating; sometimes , it even became a chore. Words are sent, but nothing is communicated… E very attempt at communication seems to end up as miscommunication . I grew up in a typical East Asian household, with a typical intergenerational tension exace rbated by the biopolitical measurements in the era of the one – child policy. In this new installation, I am shin ing a light into the shadow s of technolo gical ‘progress’ . ”

Shuang Li ’s work encompasses various artistic languages , including performance, interactive websites, sculpture, moving image s and mul timedia installations. Her work, deeply rooted in the contemporary digital landscape, focuses on the diverse forms of interaction and intimacy between the medium and its users , as well as between the mediums themselves. In particular, Li highlights the way various forms of technology both interact with us and themselves, as part of a globalized communication system that regulates our bodies and desires.

Stemming from the artist’s own experience growing up in China under the historical period of the one – child policy , the exhibition “Distance of the Moon” delve s into the dil emma of communication in the highly mediated reality we live in today, as well as the complicated mother – child relationship . Starting with the artist’s personal challenges in ex changing emotions within the household , the exhibition unfolds by highlight ing the complexities of maternal bonds through a multi – dimensional narrative. At the heart of the exhibition lies a lost letter to Shuang Li’s mother , translated into a site – specific light and sound display , thereby transcend ing into the ethereal .

The title Distance of the Moon comes from Italo Calvino’s book Cosmicomics . Its opening story with the same title describes a prehistorical time whe n the gravity between the moon and the earth was different than today. At one point during their orbits , they would get really close to each other, and people on the earth would take out a ladder to climb up to the moon to collect something called moon milk. One night, when people were on the moon as usual, gravity suddenly changed, drawing the moon far away from the earth. Amidst the chaos, some people managed to jump back to earth before it was too far, while othersremained on the moon forever. Li found a lot of comfort in this storyduring the pandemic while stuck in Europe, unable to travel home.

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