Neverlands and the End of the World

Lead by Yantong Li & Shengxu Jin

Under a multidimensional impetus of historical forces, such as WWII and the Cold War, the narrative and historical implications of nuclear energy have undergone various evolutions. Classic characters in cinema history, such as Godzilla, were incubated as a proactive response to the traumas of World War II and the nuclear scares of the Cold War. However, in present times, circulations of such rhetorics eventually convolute with consumerism and capitalism overtones that appropriate nuclear fear into consumerist leisure.

The advancement of contemporary nuclear energy constitutes an almost inaccessible existence to the masses. Its development and production are secluded from human society. Yet, at the same time, the subject of nuclear energy is fictionalized and imagined in mass entertainment productions as a range of apocalyptic imageries, such as ruins, mutations, and human extinction, fabricated based on the fear of nuclear energy, fusing a ubiquitous apocalyptic aesthetic that is mass-produced.

Neverland and the End of the World use nuclear-related films and images as central archaeological mediums for its curatorial praxis. By dismantling and juxtaposing fictional films, official documents, and news images from different epochs of nuclear development, the exhibition attempts to exemplify the obscurity of nuclear fear, depicting the origin, mass circulation, production and reproduction of apocalyptic imaginations under the fear of nuclear energy. On the other hand, it also attempts to transcend a singular media lens, reinterprets the role of fiction intertwined with socio-historical realities and examines the complexity of nuclear fear and apocalyptic narratives.

This exhibition is part of the Curatorial Awards Exhibition at the 2022 JimeixArles International Photography Festival, and is generously supported by Three Shadows Photography Center.