Vivien Zhang

Aranya Art Center North presents Paths Unseen, a solo exhibition by Vivien Zhang, featuring paintings, maquettes, and archival material based on butterfly map projections.

The butterfly is a frequently recurring motif in Zhang's recent work. The shape originates from the butterfly projection method devised by Bernard J.S. Cahill in 1909. Due to its more accurate representation of land area, this octahedral map projection –which unfolds the Earth into the shape of a butterfly – is regarded as a visual solution that is more geopolitically neutral to regional politics and provides us with an alternative logic for understanding the world.

Map projections are often seen as "husks" of the Earth, while the butterfly's skin carries a more profound metaphor: butterflies mimic each other's patterns to evade predators, and some species undertake intergenerational migrations for survival and reproduction. The exhibition title, Paths Unseen, alludes to the ways in which migrations and assimilation within an individual's history subtly shape behaviors and interpersonal relationships (the artist moved between multiple countries during her upbringing and is currently based in the United Kingdom). Drawing on the mimicry and migratory mechanisms of butterflies, this exhibition explores how individuals move through, adapt to, and assimilate within social structures, reflecting on contemporary issues such as identity formation, collective consensus, and strategies of survival.

This exhibition is organised by Assistant Curator Gao Liangjiao and Associate Curator Wu Yiyang at the Aranya Art Center.