The mosaic is divided into two parts. The lower quarter - kept sober in dark blue and white - indicates the directions north and east in white on the blue background, in between in the reversed color composition the inscription "HOME". But it does not properly come together, because the "E" is rotated by 180 °. Above it is a matte-pastel pattern, an impressionistic- looking fragmented landscape. Viewed together, the two parts result in an almost technical appearance. Both, because of the pixel-like nature of the small mosaic tiles, which seem somewhat weathered matt as they are, and because of the not quite coherent font, they are reminiscent of a glitching display screen. The Cambridge Dictionary defines "glitch" as "a small problem or fault that prevents something from being successful or working as well as it should" and lists "problem, difficulty, trouble" among other synonyms. However, while a breakdown means a serious problem that prevents the system from working at all, the glitch represents more of a shift where the system continues to run despite the problem, but no longer in a completely functional way. The inside and the outside no longer behave in sync with each other, which can lead to unexpected and sometimes even disturbing results.
In her exhibition "Lost in Page", Chenxi Zhong assembles a series of familiar, nostalgic motifs, which she then glitches. The mosaic "HOMƎ" described in the beginning refers to typical decorations for the home, which by convention have simple inscriptions such as "Home Sweet Home" and are placed in prominent places around the house. In the mosaic series with the four works "first second breeze", "second second breeze", "third second breeze" and "fourth second breeze", on the other hand, it is mills as typical placeholders for romantic notions of country life that are depicted on the panels in various moments of movement with a second interval between them, but the mosaics themselves do not remain rigid. As they are made of pearlescent tiles, the image shifts depending on the perspective and the incidence of light and the mill motifs dissolve in a landscape of pastel square pixels. The glitch is somewhat more abstract in the series of watercolor drawings titled "'Sorry Edward' I said, splattering the tablecloth with jam." While the title hints at a story behind the images that is in equal parts explanation and a mystery, the watercolors themselves are inspired by standard dish towels. Starched, crisp white dish towels are usually considered a signifier of controlled homeliness, however, here it is precisely the messiness, the "splatter," and the rebellious gesture conveyed in the title that is celebrated. The internal logic of the works Chenxi assembles here thus does not behave synchronously with the expectations of their motifs, but rather they create a shift and slight disruption between them.
According to feminist theorist Legacy Russell, the glitch, both as a digital structure and as a figure of thought, has great creative potential and offers a possibility for an opening towards other modes of operation, away from binary forms and expectations. In the glitch, a refusal of continuing to serve the old familiar and presupposed is revealed, yet it is not nihilistic, but rather interested in a creative exploration of other possible forms and structures. However, in the case of a technical glitch, even if it is not comprehensible, the distinction between the inside and the outside is usually straightforward, while Chenxi Zhong's works contain additional layers in between that complicate a clear distinction. This can be observed particularly well in the mosaic "Right Now, Right Here", where in the forefront there is a grid in the shape of a warped barred window or a map. It is only behind this grid, that the outside view of stylized snowflakes is revealed. Or in the series "Today is Tomorrow's Yesterday", where a grid quite clearly represents window frames behind which fragmentary landscapes unfold in the twilight. This is a guided and mediated gaze. Going beyond mere reproduction and dismissal of the expected representation of charged nostalgic motives, the attention is drawn towards perspective, towards the question of whose gaze, whose stories we follow here. By glitching widely known motifs in her works, Chenxi questions their universality and thus prevents for them to be romanticized as usual. At the same time, however, her perspective testifies to a sensitive and interested relationship towards them and therefore also allows us to follow the artist and get lost in the vastness of these images.
Marija Petrovic