WHEN an architect, an artist and a composer collaborate on a single large-scale work for an exhibition, there must be something different.

And that is not even to mention Liu Yichun, Qiu Anxiong and Jin Wang are all big names in their fields.

Organized by Art Pioneer Studio and L+MALL at the Lujiazui Center, the work “How It Flows On” combines architect Liu’s rearrangement of space, artist Qiu’s silhouette animation and composer Jin’s polyphonic music, connecting APSMUSEUM and Riverside Passage through the immersive and interactive installation for the public.

Curated by Li Xiangning, dean of Tongji University’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the exhibition tries to achieve a trans-space, trans-time and trans-disciplinary large-scale work.

Although APSMUSEUM is in a busy shopping mall, and Riverside Passage is along the Yangpu riverside, an on-site transmission would reflect simultaneously the exact river scene viewed from Riverside Passage on an LED screen at the APSMUSEUM.

The installation also includes images of drifting humans and objects.

“In 2020, after lockdown in the physical space, the role of virtual space in our urban daily life has become ubiquitous,” said Robin Wong, founder and director of APSMUSEUM.

“In this sensory encounter woven by multiple spaces, visitors might experience the flow of time at APSMUSEUM, Riverside Passage and other places contemplating the fickleness of everything in the space that brings together the new and old, and the virtual and real.”

She says the APSMUSEUM will connect with different cities in China and abroad for “How It Flows On,” and the famous “A Lonely Library” in Anaya Art Center in Qinhuangdao, north China’s Hebei Province, is also scheduled on this year’s list. Visitors at the APSMUSEUM then could see a live screening of “A Lonely Library.”

It is a bit surprising that Liu, one of the hottest architects in China today who rose to fame through the Long Museum on the West Bund, would squeeze in time for his full schedule for this installation.

“This is not the first time that I collaborated with contemporary artists, and I have worked with Zhan Wang and Ding Yi before,” said Liu with a smile, “Industrial ruins and contemporary art are the main things to draw me here.”

Artist Qiu is noted for bringing surreal experiences through his animations, leading the viewers to wander in his “contemporary mythical” world. Those figures and objects in the animation flow freely to the void and then disperse and disappear as time goes by.

Composer Jin has also some connection to the contemporary art circle. Previously, he used his music to link people and objects that may seem unrelated.

Dates: Through July 15 (closed on Mondays), 10am-10pm

Main Venue: APSMUSEUM, No. 301, L+Mall, 889 Pudong Rd S.

Sub-venue: Riverside Passage, Yangshupu Gas Factory Wharf