Oscar-winning artist Tim Yip has created “Mirror Garden,” a captivating exhibition at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning, where the real and virtual worlds collide.

Giant Lili installations are on display at Tim Yip’s Shenzhen exhibition.Photos by Cao Zhen

Visitors can experience Yip’s visually stunning installations, videos, sketches, photographic works, and garments, all showcasing his distinctive “New Orientalism” aesthetic. This multidisciplinary Chinese artist once again redefines the boundaries of artistic expression.

The central figure of the Shenzhen exhibition is Lili, an enigmatic mannequin resembling a young Chinese woman. Yip has taken Lili around the world, capturing her presence in various settings — bars, restaurants, streets — photographing her interacting with locals as if she were alive. Lili’s sunglasses conceal her eyes, inviting the audience to ponder her hidden thoughts and emotions.

An exhibit at Tim Yip’s Shenzhen exhibition.

The creation of Lili began in 2007 with Yip’s bronze sculpture “Desire,” a statue that weeps tears through an integrated water system. Since then, Lili has evolved into a central figure in Yip’s body of work, appearing in various forms. At the exhibition, one can admire stunning giant Lili installations and an alien-esque version.

Exhibits at Tim Yip’s Shenzhen exhibition.

“Lili is a series of my conceptual artworks. She guides viewers through a multiverse of existence and inspires them to rethink and perceive the truths of time, space, virtuality, and reality,” Yip says. “I create art from an anthropological perspective, always questioning — which I believe is the driving force of life.”

“This exhibition constructs two virtual realms: one is the reality of temporal existence, woven from all unfolding moments, and the other is a mythological cosmos emerging from our conceptual realm of ideals,” he adds.

Curated by Dr. Luo Yi, the exhibition also features Yip’s first AIGC (artificial intelligence generated content) film, “Courier.” “In Yip’s exploration of contemporary art, he consistently emphasizes the connection between tradition and the future, using technology as a tool to realize this vision. Lili, reflecting both reality and illusion, embodies Yip’s meditation on humanity in the technological era,” says Yan Weixin, director of the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning.

“As viewers navigate Lili’s countless avatars and engage with the interplay of Yip’s sculptures and videos, they will encounter a unique experience that transcends mediums and blurs the boundaries between the tangible and the virtual,” Yan adds.

Dates: Through Sept. 7

Venue: Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning, Futian District (深圳市當代藝術與城市規劃館)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宮站), Exit A2