Self—ish

Self—ish

(2026)

XJ (Xin Wen and JJ Agcaoili)

XJ (Xin Wen and JJ Agcaoili)

March 7 – 19

March 7 – 19

Description

In an era defined by digital surplus, our sense of self is increasingly fragmented and recomposed into data traces through platforms designed to surveil. Self—ish, the first major solo exhibition by artist duo XJ (Xin Wen and JJ Agcaoili), explores how the subjective self is constructed, compressed, and now mimicked by the technologies we inhabit. Notable for their methodology of working in between the physical and the digital, XJ brings together five works across projection-mapped installation, moving image, and kinetic sculpture. Moving between physical interaction and algorithmic abstraction, these works embody how the self is both turned inward and constantly exposed.  The title Self—ish captures this tension: it evokes the introspection of being alone with oneself, but also the way our personal gestures are always observed, recorded, and interpreted by external forces to grasp at an approximation of personhood. The infrastructures that promise agency are shaped by selfishness and technological determinism: forces that extract from the very selves they appear to empower. Self—ish reflects the ambiguous space of the digital self, where solitude, self-expression, and exposure coexist, and where identity is both something we claim and something that is claimed for us. What happens to our sense of self when identity becomes a performance, existence requires maintenance, and the real becomes eclipsed by the artificial? Self—ish, curated by Ruoxi Gao, is a degree project with the Curating Art international Master’s Programme at the department of Culture and Aesthetics, Stockholm University.  

Artist Statement

XJ (Xin Wen and JJ Agcaoili) is a Chinese-American and Filipino artistic duo grown out of London, now working internationally. Their award-winning practice reckons with the human subject in collision with the material and digital structures that manipulate contemporary life. This fascination with the physical-digital is embodied in media-expansive work across experimental video, kinetic sculpture, and immersive installation. They have exhibited globally in major cities such as San Francisco, Taiwan, Linz, Singapore, and London.

Date & Address

Opening Hours: March 7, 18-21 Helix Art Space (HAS), Torsplan 12, Stockholm.

Artists

XJ (Xin Wen and JJ Agcaoili)

CREDITS

Curated by Ruoxi Gao. Yul Cho, Daniel Daboczy, Thom Mattson, Ebba Lindgren Jirdén, Jennifer Gummesson, Delta Consulting, Tower Helix

Make sure you’re on the list. Limited availability.

Make sure you’re on the list. Limited availability.

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