Immersive exhibition delves into the dazzling dreams of the infant

"The Son of Earth," a daunting sculpture created by Dong Shubin in the Gobi Desert in northwest China's Gansu Province, has already generated 500 million views, not to mention thousands of visitors frequenting the venue.

Now it lands at X11 art mall in Shanghai through the immersive exhibition "The Son of Earth – Dream Wonderland."

Dong, one of China's most renowned sculptors and vice director of Academy of Arts & Design of Tshinghua University, is closely linked with his subject of newborns. "The Son of Earth" features a chubby-faced baby lying on his side, in a sound sleep.

Originally created as a public piece with a colossal size – 15 meters long and 4.3 meters high – the huge sculpture in the Gobi Desert tries to reflect the striking contrast between the ancient desert and the new, between the coarse and the tender.

This exhibition delves into the dazzling dreams of the infant.

A small version of "The Son of Earth" is placed in the center of the exhibition room, wrapped with eight changing digital scenes around it. Sometimes it's the navy blue seabed and sometimes it's the mysterious Dunhuang culture, as if visitors are dreaming with the baby in his own fantasy universe, history and wonderland. This type of immersive exhibition evokes a feeling of perspective, showing the visitor how tiny our world really is, when compared to the infinite expanse of our dreams and the universe around us.

While based on the original sculpture in the Gobi Desert, the in-house exhibition renders a different approach and concept. A graffiti version of "The Son of Earth" created by TAG, is also on display, bringing visitors a new facet of the sculpture as well.

Exhibition info:

Date: Through October 31, 10am-8pm

Address: B1, 688 Huaihai Rd M.

Admission: Free