In the beginning of 2021, the audio-based social app Clubhouse made a splash among the Chinese speaking communities as an unusual aggregation of public forums. I was invited to join Clubhouse by a friend on the occasion of some large-scale discussions in Chinese languages on political topics. In addition, the art community also constituted an active group on Clubhouse, providing rare opportunities for concentrated discussions about art and culture in the Chinese speaking world.
In deliberating a discussion with artists on Clubhouse’s brief yet impactful run in an online community otherwise insulated by China’s internet firewall, artist Aaajiao came up as an obvious candidate because his practice and thinking are tethered to our evolving online identities and the blurred boundaries between URL and IRL spaces.