In the “Tools” series, XU ZHEN® combines Western classical architectural culture with every-day objects in the era of globalization, thus deconstructing both the classic and the contemporary in a humurous and incisive way. With the mutual transformation of sublimity and functionality, this series probes the sensory boundaries of viewing and using, as well as our cognitive standards for civilization and art.

In Tools — Roman Columns, Meat Grinder, several Roman columns, as symbols of civilization, appear to be gradually coming out of a meat grinder in a unified form and with a soft visual texture. During the mutual transfor- mation of instrumentality and symbolism, the work is a metaphor for various disciplining of personal development and cultural evolution. The discipline may originate in a social mechanism oriented towards instrumental rationality or the ownership of discourse power in cross-cultural communications. In a visually striking format, the artist enlarges and reflects on the limitation and solidification within Eastern and Western civilizations, which heralds an exploration of alternative social mechanisms.