Backslash Artist 2024
Chando Ao was born in Fengdu, China, a city that was submerged when the Three Gorges Dam was constructed when he was 13. He later moved to Chongqing, China, Sydney, Australia, Boston, and New York. This immigrant experience greatly influenced his perception of the world and his art practice: When language becomes a barrier, seek alternative ways to express; when must leave your hometown, carry it with you always.
Ao's practice navigates between two extremes: his solo endeavors in paintings and a complex, open system, often involving extensive collaborations with the external world through robots, software, unique materials, and everyday goods. This system is designed to engage visitors—inviting them to touch, embrace, climb, and even juggle with the work. These two modes of creation mirror his dual states as an individual: introspectively sensing himself and outwardly conveying a concise, fundamental sensory experience without the aid of language or text.
Artwork in Progress
During the early stages of the pandemic, Ao began researching how autonomous driving might shift people’s perception of physical distance, time, and space. At that time, he collaborated with MOS on a research paper titled “New Living.” The paper explored how physical spaces no longer hold the same gravitational weight they once did. Activities such as working, shopping, and communicating can now happen almost anywhere, at any time. A commute to work, for instance, can happen in seconds rather than minutes or hours. In this context, urbanism exists simultaneously in the “cloud” (without friction) and physically (with friction). Our urban gravity has become a relational force, accelerating and decelerating, diminished within the “cloud.” The project was paused until last year when Ao discovered a technique capable of delivering the frictionless movement he had been envisioning. He decided to move forward with the project, but realized he needed input from someone deeply involved in the research of autonomous driving to help him understand the nuanced shifts in human perception once it becomes widely adopted. This is why he chose to collaborate with Wendy Ju’s team, to gain insight into the more human and perceptual aspects of their research. With this deeper understanding, he aims to create a romantic and subtle animation featuring frictionless movement, which will serve as the foundation for a new installation piece