Li Hanwei

CV

LiHi: Brave New Mind
(Li Hanwei’s Sanatorium Project)

Opening 2026 February 7
Open from 2026 February 7 to May 5

Curators Wu Zhe, Chen Wenyi

Location Power Station of Art (PSA)
678 Miaojiang Rd., Huangpu District, Shanghai


In contemporary society, the notion of “recuperation” has increasingly moved beyond that of “convalescence,” no longer referring solely to an individual’s recovery, but instead evolving into an ongoing system of governance. Within this system, individuals—through the adoption of technology, efficiency-oriented principles, and self-management—are kept in a state of constant availability and readiness for optimization. Within this context, LiHi is conceived as a sanatorium brand, an integrated system that synthesizes everyday objects, living experiences, and cognitive regulation solutions.


“Brave New Mind,” the core motto of LiHi, points to a collective imagination of intelligence, rationality, and efficiency. Guided by this concept, the mind and perception are treated as renewable resources, while recuperation is no longer understood as a process directed toward a specific end, but rather as a long-term, continuous technical operation.


In terms of spatial arrangement, the exhibition is composed of 18 units of similar scale. Videos, sculptures, paintings, lighting, and other forms of works are arranged within a unified structural and lighting system, functioning as nodes embedded within a continuously operating system. While each unit remains relatively independent, their juxtaposition and reconfiguration generate new relationships, transforming the viewing path into a system that allows for repeated entry.


Li Hanwei’s practice is thus presented as an experimental project carried out within the LiHi system. Rather than following a medium or thematic logic, his works operate at the limits of technology, the body, and emotion through constant adjustment. In this sense, recuperation refers to a state of superposition, the overlay of technological systems onto the human. As viewers move through the exhibition, they are presented with a “sanatorium package” that has been weighed, sorted, and reassembled, allowing them to sense variations in intensity and density across different units.


Rather than offering a definitive model of recuperation, the exhibition invites viewers to linger within the system—to observe, and reflect on whether art can still sustain its ambiguity and human dimension when creation, spectatorship, and recuperation itself become configurable social labor.