Payne Zhu's 'Sounding the Deep Water' at Aranya Art Center explores maritime capital through allegory and eroticism

The Aranya Art Center in Beidaihe, Hebei province, China, is hosting Payne Zhu's solo exhibition titled 'Sounding the Deep Water,' which will be open until 7 September 2025. This exhibition comprises three interrelated pieces that delve into the maritime history of global trade. In the circular amphitheater, 'Whale-Derived Pump' (2025) features a rotating sail crafted from algae-based biomaterial, alluding to American capitalism and Herman Melville's 'Moby-Dick' (1851). Another section, repurposed from his 2023 Shanghai Biennale display, presents four sculptural 'dishes' that reference global commodities. Additionally, the two-channel video 'Promises from the Futures (2025 Derivative Edition)' (2025) incorporates AI-generated whale songs and visuals of trading ports, drawing inspiration from Fernand Braudel's 'Civilization and Capitalism' (1967) while addressing themes of sex, death, and voyeurism.