BEAM at Royal Society of Sculptors

Exhibition

Royal Society of Sculptors (London, UK)

November 28 – December 5, 2023

A first prototype of BEAM (2023) was exhibited at the Royal Society of Sculptors as one of the finalists of the Interplay Kinetic Design Competition.

BEAM (2023) made its public debut at the Royal Society of Sculptors as a finalist in the first edition of the Interplay Kinetic Design Competition. Co-developed with Wei Zhang and Luling Wang, the experimental kinetic lamp explores an alternative framework for domestic technology where objects are liberated from functional servitude and compliance.

The work stands as a critique of a technological landscape that preys on consumers through addictive patterns and planned obsolescence. BEAM communicates through body language and light movement and is planned for a worn metal finish, proposing a more ambient technological interface that is built to patinate beautifully over time.

BEAM was featured in the Dora House studio gallery from November 28 through December 5, 2023.

Interactive projection-mapped installation

Multichannel video sculpture

Xin-1.0.36(2026)

Video

2026

Personhood, Version FourMVR Gallery (Ithaca, NY)Solo Exhibition

Self—ish, a Solo ExhibitionHelix Art Space (Stockholm, Sweden)Solo Exhibition

2025

Silent InterferenceFengling Commercial Building (Taoyuan, Taiwan)Exhibition

AI as an Art MaterialHelix Art Space (Stockholm, Sweden)Talk

Alternative Roots FestivalHoxton Hall (London, UK)Exhibition

Art as an Act of HomemakingBow Arts (London)Talk

Personhood at Speculum ArtiumDelavski dom Trbovlje (Trbovlje, Slovenia)Exhibition

2024

Personhood at Asian Art MuseumAsian Art Museum (San Francisco)Solo Exhibition

Into the FutureWhitespace Gallery (Edinburgh, Scotland)Exhibition

The Kakilang 2025 CommissionKakilang (London, UK)Commission

Technarte ConferencePalacio Euskalduna (Bilbao, Spain)Talk

2023

BEAM at Royal Society of SculptorsRoyal Society of Sculptors (London, UK)Exhibition

CIRCA2023 Public Vote PrizePiccadilly Lights (London, UK)Award

Screening at Piccadilly LightsPiccadilly Lights (London, UK)Screening

Ars Electronica FestivalAtelierhaus Salzamt (Linz, Austria)Exhibition

ART-ACT FestivalTen Square (Singapore)Exhibition

Agawen is the studio practice of J. Aga (PH) and Xin Wen (CN/US). Their collaboration began in London, where they completed a joint postgraduate programme between the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. They made their artistic debut during a term abroad in Singapore, followed by a UK debut later that year on the Piccadilly Lights, which received the CIRCA Public Vote Prize.

Their current body of work is about how contemporary life is structurally determined by cities and screens, and it draws from their experience as diasporic artists and their technical foundation as design-engineers. Their experimental videos, kinetic sculptures, and immersive installations have been exhibited at the Asian Art Museum (San Francisco, USA), Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria), Helix Art Space (Stockholm, Sweden), and Speculum Artium (Trbovlje, Slovenia).

Formerly XJ.