“Naked Beyond Skin”, Tang Contemporary Art Beijing, 2008

In this exhibition, Xiang Jing focuses entirely on woman-related topics and offers a comprehensive analysis of “woman” and “the body” in a mature and incisive fashion; such that this monosexual collection of works can be said to transcend “gender”. The human body is the most relevant medium in relation to woman-related issues that is frequently misinterpreted in our culture. In Naked Beyond Skin, Xiang Jing endeavors to reveal truth beneath the skin: with an emphasis on subjectivity, this exhibition is a study of human nature as well as the relationship between the individual and the other. The exhibition space is full of mirrors. Not only is mirror a conceptually transparent, and a versatile material, it also has a certain feminine quality - a self-reflecting, self-inspecting connotation. The myriad mirrors also complement the complex structure of the exhibition narrative.

On-site description
“First I laid the entire exhibition floor with mirrors, then three mirror-encased walls are set to divide space. Most of the sculptures are placed on floor-level directly on top of the mirrors, apart from The Open, for which I asked for a 20-cm (8-inch) tall mirror-encased base - this proved to be a good decision: setting The Open on a slightly raised platform made the giant sculpture even grander and more imposing. At the entrance, viewers can only see part of The Open’s face through reflection from the foremost mirror-wall, the size of the whole work is absolutely astounding. As one walks in, one can only see the first set of works facing the foremost and the smallest mirror-wall. There is To Us…, behind which there is Peacocks, which is situated in the same scene with Premonition, which is subtly standing up in the corner. The centerpiece of this exhibition, Are a Hundred Playing You? Or Only One? is placed right in the middle of the hall. It is brightly illuminated; the mirror behind reflects its contorted image. Behind the first mirror-wall there is Rainbow, with the enormous The Open on the opposite side. As one