A new lens on infinity Exhibition unites artists and scientists, showcasing works where technology and art converge to spark creativity, Li Yingxue reports. 2025-08-29    Li Yingxue

The inaugural International Olympiad ArtScience Exhibition held at Beijing's Songzhuang Art Center.

Folding a Snowflake, cocreated by Pei Haozheng and Cao Yuxi.

The exhibition brings together 13 leading cross-disciplinary artists from different countries, and over 1,000 participants from hundreds of institutions.

Another still from Spring is Hope.

Top and above: Pei's works from Folded Space series. Middle: A still from Chen Duo's video art work Spring is Hope.

In the dim glow of Beijing's Songzhuang Art Center, a "pupil of light" slowly forms — 12 spotlights flare to life in sequence, their beams bending through a circle of crystal lenses until an eye gazes back at the viewer.

The installation, Flying Starry Eyes, is the latest creation of artist Li Bo. At its core is a cutting-edge caustics algorithm, usually confined to the realm of optical engineering. Li has transformed it into a vessel for memory.

Each lens is etched with microscopic convexities that redirect light, projecting a fleeting gaze that seems to appear, vanish, and reappear with time.

For Li, that gaze is not abstract: it carries the weight of her father's final look before his passing, a moment that could not be held but has been refracted into permanence.

"Those glances, impossible to grasp yet etched deep within me, are like these crystal-like lenses — hidden in time, almost imperceptible, until a beam of light calls them forth," she says.

Debuting at the inaugural International Olympiad ArtScience Exhibition, the installation is more than a fusion of art and algorithm. Here, technology does more than illuminate — it remembers.

Li's work is part of a larger conversation — one that organizers have dubbed the "Olympics of ArtScience". Supported by the Sci-Art Association, a renowned interdisciplinary organization, the exhibition brings together 13 leading cross-disciplinary artists from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, and beyond, alongside over 1,000 participants from hundreds of institutions.

The event celebrates humanity's shared pursuit of technology and aesthetics, framed as an innovative continuation of the Olympic spirit in the realms of creativity and innovation. Running through Sept 10, the exhibition is not confined to Songzhuang. A parallel online gallery allows global viewing, and a traveling edition is planned for the National Speed Skating Oval, the "Ice Ribbon" of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and Los Angeles, the headquarters of the International Olympiad ArtScience Committee, the exhibition's guiding unit.

Among the standout works, Tech Art Map by Qiu Zhijie, dean of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, sketches a sweeping panorama of art-technology integration. Folding a Snowflake, a new media installation by Cao Yuxi, visual director of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, reconstructs the beauty of nature and humanity through technology, weaving Eastern philosophy with digital art.

Other contributors include Chen Baoyang, Chen Duo, Dong Shuchang, Dou Dou, Hu Haijie, Jin Yuanshan, Li Hong, Yang Song, and Zhang Xiaoli, with works spanning installations, crafts, paintings, videos, photography, and artificial intelligence-generated content.

Pei Haozheng, curator of the exhibition, adds his own series of deployable installations, including Between Chaos and Order and Folded Space, which use geometric forms to explore the philosophy of space.

Pei describes the exhibition as both a tribute to human civilization and a vision for the future. Guided by forward-looking themes such as "sustainable development", "cross-disciplinary innovation", and "tech ethics with humanistic care", the exhibition echoes the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, positioning art and technology as forces capable of addressing global challenges.

Pei outlines three directions he sees shaping the future of art-science integration. The first is the use of advanced technologies — AI, digital twins, virtual reality, sustainable materials — imbued with philosophical depth and emotion, breaking the stereotype of "cold technology".

He adds, "The second is a paradigm shift toward cross-disciplinary collaboration: deep partnerships between artists, scientists, engineers, and philosophers generating new forms of knowledge and creativity."

The third direction is practical application in society. "Some works on display have already attracted collaborations with design institutes and tech companies. The exhibition is not only a showcase of achievements but also an accelerator for translating ideas from academia into practice."

Alongside the curated exhibition, the competition section presents over 1,000 outstanding entries from the International Olympiad ArtScience Contest. These span digital generative art, light-tech 3D handcrafts, digital media and video, interactive design across online and offline platforms, painting, printmaking, and intangible cultural heritage projects.

On the technology side, categories include robotics, drones, AI, 3D printing and intelligent fabrication, as well as programming and algorithm-based works.

"This year's theme is 'Infinity'," Pei explains. "From a letter, to an old book, a camera lens, a pair of straw sandals, a box of microscope slides. … These ordinary objects, these special exhibits that witness the artists' growth, symbolize the countless failures we endure, the boundless nature we observe, the fathomless starry skies we dream of, the measureless mountains and seas we traverse, and the endless attachments we carry within.

"Here, science is no longer a cold equation, and art is no longer confined to canvases or stages. When the two converge, they ignite a creativity capable of changing the world," he says.