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

exhibition · 2026-04-20

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.

Key facts

  • Payne Zhu's solo exhibition 'Sounding the Deep Water' runs through 7 September 2025
  • Located at Aranya Art Center in Beidaihe, Hebei province, China
  • Features 'Whale-Derived Pump' (2025), a painted sail on a steel mast depicting a sperm whale and giant squid
  • Includes sculptural 'dishes' referencing commodities like coal, spice, porcelain, and fish
  • Two-channel video 'Promises from the Futures (2025 Derivative Edition)' shows global trading ports and a fishing boat journey
  • Exhibition explores maritime history of global capital and themes of sex, death, and voyeurism
  • Draws on historian Fernand Braudel's 'Civilization and Capitalism' (1967)
  • Aranya is a private resort with an artificial beach and nearby Qinhuangdao is a major coal port

Entities

Artists

  • Payne Zhu
  • Herman Melville
  • Fernand Braudel

Institutions

  • Aranya Art Center
  • Shanghai Biennale
  • ArtReview Asia

Locations

  • Beidaihe
  • Hebei province
  • China
  • Beijing
  • Qinhuangdao
  • Rotterdam
  • Geneva
  • Venice
  • Shanghai
  • London
  • Switzerland

Sources