Leo Gallery Shanghai | Ma Lili Solo Exhibition: Travelling Through the Niding Forest 

Embark on a journey of awareness, exploring the depths of the unknown and illuminating the light of spirituality and wisdom.

In British author James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon, Shangri-La is a fictional place, more of a spiritual haven, situated west of the Kunlun Mountains, surrounded by peaks, mysterious and harmonious. In the real world, in Deqin County, Shangri-La, Yunnan, China, there lies a hidden primary forest - Niding Primeval Forest. In Tibetan, Niding means "the place of the heart." In this sense, the Niding Forest is not just a physical forest but a spiritual one.

Following the pandemic from 2020 to 2023, people have become more attuned to their inner selves and the present moment, increasingly connecting with family and nature. In the art world, from transcendental art and surrealism to techno-shamanism, a strong wave of “spiritualism” has been making a global comeback since the 59th Venice Art Biennale in 2022, themed The Milk of Dreams. The exhibition, Travelling Through the Niding Forest, spans forests, canyons, rivers, and mountains, aiming to journey through the physical world to reach the spiritual realm, focusing deeply on the true meaning of life and humanity’s ultimate spiritual destination in the universe.

Throughout her artistic career, Ma Lili has focused on the complex spiritual connections between humans and nature that transcend corporeal bodies, time, and space. Most of the works in Traveling Through the Niding Forest were created in 2024. Starting from the 2023 'Matrix' series, Ma Lili embarked on her new creative journey, evoking associations with 'Esotericism.' In my opinion, 'Western esotericism' has a profound intrinsic connection with ancient Eastern wisdom (Taoism, Buddhism, and Zen).

If Ma Lili’s creations before 2023 blurred the boundaries between virtual and reality, her new works transcend reality, focusing on a universal, intrinsic spiritual dimension, opening the eye of awareness. “What is progress?” Does “progress” mean breaking away from “tradition” entirely, or does it signify a transformation that allows ancient truths to be understood in new ways? Whether it is Western Esotericism or Eastern spirituality, Travelling through the spiritual Niding Forest focuses on our “inner development,” exploring and embracing a new spiritual worldview that harmonizes ancient wisdom from both the East and the West.

Text / Ning Wen