HSU JING – Solo Exhibition Curated by Chenqi Jiang , Meijing Yu
CSM postgraduate degree show, 2026. Photography by Yuxiang Jiang.
Works and Projects at Archway, London · 10–20 July 2026
Works and Projects at Archway (W.P.A) is pleased to present Synthetic Ruins: Recurrence, a solo exhibition by HSU JING, curated by Meijing Yu and Chenqi Jiang. Bringing together a new body of sculptures and paintings, the exhibition explores how artificial intelligence, image production and historical memory intersect within contemporary visual culture.
HSU JING is an interdisciplinary artist working across sculpture, painting and digital fabrication. Drawing on his engagement with Art and Science at Central Saint Martins and his background in Innovation Design at the China Academy of Art, his practice examines the evolving relationship between technology and human experience. Rather than approaching technology as a neutral tool, HSU considers it an active cultural force—one that reshapes perception, authorship and collective imagination.
The exhibition takes its title from the idea that ruins are no longer simply remnants of the past. In an age where algorithms continuously generate images, wars are consumed through endless media circulation, and artificial intelligence reconstructs fragments of cultural history, “ruins” become an ongoing condition rather than a completed event. They are continuously reproduced, reinterpreted and re-entered into our visual consciousness.
Throughout the exhibition, HSU employs historical imagery—including cavalry, mythology and classical sculpture—not as references to specific moments in history, but as visual archetypes that have been detached from their original contexts and reassembled through technological processes. His works question how images acquire authority, how historical narratives are constructed, and how machine-generated visual languages increasingly shape the ways we understand reality.
At the centre of the exhibition is Endless March, a kinetic sculpture in which compressed groups of cavalry rotate endlessly on a motorised platform. Suspended in perpetual motion, the work rejects the linear narrative of conflict and instead presents war as a continuous cycle without origin or conclusion. The sculpture reflects not only the repetition of history, but also the repetitive way conflict is experienced through today’s image-saturated media environment.
The painting Formation continues this investigation through blurred masses of figures that hover between recognition and disappearance. Layers of paint, erasure and distortion create unstable images that resist clear interpretation, reflecting how contemporary memory is increasingly mediated by circulated images rather than direct experience. Here, uncertainty becomes an essential condition of seeing.
The bronze series Fake Mythology further expands HSU’s exploration of authorship and technological agency. Originating from AI-generated images before being digitally modelled, 3D printed and cast in bronze, these sculptures occupy an ambiguous position between ancient artefact and algorithmic hallucination. While they recall the formal language of classical mythology, they ultimately reveal new mythologies authored not by civilisation, but by machine intelligence.
Across the accompanying paintings, HSU deliberately recreates visual anomalies commonly associated with AI-generated imagery—distorted anatomy, repeated forms and impossible proportions—using traditional oil painting techniques. By manually reproducing machine errors, he reverses the conventional relationship between artist and technology, transforming digital imperfections into a new visual language that questions authenticity, perception and representation.
Rather than presenting artificial intelligence as either a utopian promise or a dystopian threat, Synthetic Ruins: Recurrence considers technology as a participant in the production of history, memory and culture. The exhibition invites viewers to reflect on how images are constructed, how belief is formed, and how our understanding of the past—and of ourselves—is increasingly negotiated through non-human systems.
During the exhibition, W.P.A was honoured to welcome Oliver Pearce, Chair of the UAL Alumni Association. His visit and thoughtful feedback offered valuable encouragement to HSU JING’s ongoing exploration of the relationship between art, technology and contemporary culture.
Founded in North London, Works and Projects at Archway (W.P.A) is an independent contemporary art space dedicated to supporting emerging artistic practices and interdisciplinary experimentation. Through exhibitions, artist talks, screenings, workshops and community engagement, W.P.A seeks to create a platform where local dialogue and international perspectives meet. Synthetic Ruins: Recurrence continues this commitment, presenting a new generation of artistic practice that critically engages with the rapidly evolving relationship between technology and contemporary life.