Terminal 1, Departures Level, post-security

Wonderland II is inspired by a dream artist Peter Wu+ had in 1997. In this dream, the sun had long vanished behind clouds of falling ash. He found himself alone in a castle, imagining ways to capture the sun for future generations who would never see it shine.

For the artist, this dream was fertile ground to engage with an exploration of belonging and displacement through speculative fiction, a category that includes science fiction and fantasy genres. Wu+ threaded this vision of a mythical world with a second narrative, reflecting the complex conscious and subconscious dreams and anxieties felt by children of Asian diasporas.

Using 3D modeling software, he began by creating a digital twin of a deserted castle in Wonderland—an unfinished amusement park project, meant to rival Disneyland, located in Chenzhuang Village, China. Slated to be the largest amusement park in Asia, construction of Wonderland was abandoned in 1998, after disagreements with local governments and farmers over property prices. All that remains of the theme park is the castle—a new kind of ruin produced by the fallout of late-stage capitalism—which still exists IRL and, now transposed, to a virtual space.

Wu+'s rendered castle in Wonderland II features a series of sculptures and installations invoking a narrative that confronts fractured identities, assimilation, and displacement. Under a glowing twilight sky, a rotating post-human avatar transmuting between different elements functions as a surrogate for a vanished sun and a beacon for future generations seeking to redefine their relationships to identity and belonging.

Peter Wu+ generates artworks and immersive environments utilizing modeling and rendering software, projection mapping, 3D printing, and machine learning. Through speculative fiction, Wu+ investigates our estrangement associated with technological advancement and modernity. The first iteration of Wonderland was created in 2021 for EPOCH, an online curation and virtual exhibition space created by the artist in 2020. Wonderland can still be experienced online at EPOCH.gallery. Wu+ received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and his BFA from the University of Windsor. He lives and works in Los Angeles. You can see more of Peter Wu+ work at peter-wu.com, Instagram @doctor_wu or visit EPOCH at epoch.gallery, Instagram @epoch.gallery or Twitter @epoch_gallery.

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