New Spring Exhibition 2026
05
By The Urgency of Art Team
Editor: Emily Wilson
Issue 12
A Review of the Northeast
Asian Memory
The Northeast region of China, historically a contested and dynamic frontier, has long served as a crucible for cultural confluence. Beyond its identity as China’s
industrial heartland, it exists within a broader North-east Asian sphere—a terrain where Chinese, Korean, and Japanese histories have interpenetrated for over a
century. This legacy is etched into the urban fabric of cities like Shenyang, Harbin, and Yanji—in the eclectic architecture blending styles, in shared culinary land-
scapes, and in the persistence of cultural undercurrents like shamanism across ethnic borders. In an era marked by economic transition and a new wave of global diaspora, this complex inheritance is reflected and revisited here, in London. The exhibition was held at Safehouse, London from January 31st to February 3rd, 2026.
Curated around the metaphor of lines, the exhibition moved beyond a thematic display to create an immersive, socially engaged environment. It interrogated lin-ear historical narratives against the non-linear patterns of personal and collective memory, while physically and conceptually weaving together diverse audience
threads. The exhibition’s success was measured not only by the artworks but by the dynamic communities is convened, attracting a mix of Londoners from Peck-
ham’s local community, Chinese diaspora audiences who came across the exhibition info via social media, and dedicated students from UCL’s documentary
filmmaking and SOAS’s anthropology programmes. Its resonance was further amplified by coverage from platforms like Vulca Art, the Oushinet and us.
Exhibition view
Exhibition VIew
The opening powerfully set this tone of community and sensory engagement through two parallel workshops. In one space, artist and curator Fanglin Luo’s Spinning transformed the gallery into a chamber of intimate exchange. Participants, guided by the artist, passed around handkerchiefs embroidered with words linked to Northeast China. As each person spun the cloth and shared a memory, a collective, non-linear tapestry of place and belonging was woven in real-time. Simultaneously, artist Kyra Zhang orchestrated a Northeast Asian food sharing event. The familiar, comforting aromas of regional dishes became a powerful, non-verbal conduit for memory, sparking conversations among strangers about family, tradition, and the taste of “home.” These opening acts brilliantly established the
exhibition as a space for multi-sensory participation and cross-cultural encounter.
Exhibition View
Exhibition View
In conclusion, New Spring: Lines was a significant curatorial and social achievement. It successfully framed Northeast Asian memory as a living, dialogic process
rather than a static exhibit. By integrating participatory workshops, fostering a deeply personal panel discussion enriched by community voices, and attracting a
remarkably diverse audience, the exhibition realized its ambition of being a space for gathering. It questioned the meaning of connection across geographical
distances, generational gaps, and cultural boundaries, offering a hopeful model for how shared histories can be compassionately explored in a global city.
Curators:
Fanglin Luo (Chief Curator)
Jade Xiaojing Gu and Shunshun Qi
Artists:
Bo Min Kim; Evey Sun; Jade Xiaojing Gu; Fanglin Luo;
Jiaqi Lyu; Jungyun Lee ; Kyra Zhang; Rikuto Fujimoto;
Shunshun Qi; Shuyi Alice Wang; Sihong Liu; Xiaoze
Zhang; Yiwen Liang Yizheng Liu; Yusuke Kuriki;
Zengbo Qi; Zhenghang Fu Ziyan Liu;Yaxuan Li
Photos by: Haitian Liu
Exhibition Review: Shunshun Qi
Editor: Emily Wilson
The Urgency of Art physical issue at the Chapel.
Yaxuan Li's Blooming Flame and a Sweet Dream
Together, we also want to thank the artists who made this exhibition what it was: Jiaqi Lyu (Window), Prize Winner; Sachiko Shimojo (We Find Our Way), Prize Winner; Norah Fallon (Becoming); Melissa Yunzhi Li (Flickring Home), Prize Winner; Yaxuan Li (Blooming Flame and a Sweet Dream), Prize Winner; and Xin Zhang (A Liturgy of Entanglement), Prize Winner. Our thanks go to every one of them for helping to install and take down the show, and for bringing friends along to see it. Together with the visitors who registered online through Eventbrite and those who came through the Brompton Chapel, we created a truly special weekend for contemporary art.
Xin Zhang 's A Liturgy of Entanglement
Exhibition View
Coverage by The Urgency of Art Magazine.