AMO's 'true me' exhibition in china explores today's selfie-culture

AMO — OMA’s research and design studio — has designed its first exhibition in china. titled ‘true me’, the exhibit examines today’s ‘selfie-culture’ and explores different possible modes of self-representation through art and media. the display features works by artists and photographers such as teamlab, chen tianzhuo, and hou ying, among others.

titled ‘true me’, the exhibit examines today’s selfie-culture
image by bian jie, courtesy of OMA (also main image)

the exhibition, which is on display at beijing’s 798 art factory, is jointly organized by app developer meitu and the beijing contemporary arts foundation. the meitu app enables its 1 billion users to retouch their selfies, producing new expressions of the self. ‘the contradiction between this post-produced outer self and raw inner self forms the concept for the design of the exhibition spaces,’ explains AMO.

the display explores different possible modes of self-representation through art and media
image by bian jie, courtesy of OMA

the gallery’s central space is clad with curved mirrors, reflecting visitors’ outer selves, while six soft zones — clothed in grass, flannel, and felt — seek to display the inner self through visual artworks and performances. ‘the exhibition design extends AMO’s interest in studying visual culture and translating this research into staged space such as exhibition designs, fashion show sets and retail interiors,’ adds the design team.

the gallery’s central space is clad with curved mirrors
image by bian jie, courtesy of OMA

led by OMA partner and asia director chris van duijn, the exhibition forms part of a sequence of various cultural projects designed at OMA’s hong kong office. the studio recently completed a prototypical car showroom in seoul, and is also working on the extension of a leading art institute in beijing, which is currently under construction.

the display features works by artists and photographers such as teamlab, chen tianzhuo, and hou ying
image by bian jie, courtesy of OMA

the mirrors reflect visitors’ outer selves
image by bian jie, courtesy of OMA

the exhibition is jointly organized by meitu, a popular image retouching app
image © OMA

six soft zones seek to display the inner self
image © OMA

a range of artworks are on view
image by bian jie, courtesy of OMA

the exhibition is AMO’s first in china
image by bian jie, courtesy of OMA

the exhibit remains on view until august 14, 2018
image by bian jie, courtesy of OMA