Beneath the Grid by Tse-Wen Tsao | Opening Reception

Beneath the Grid is a long-form conceptual documentary project examining the tension between renewable energy development, environmental transformation, and the rights of communities whose livelihoods depend on the land. The ongoing series focuses on the Tibetan Plateau, where large-scale photovoltaic power stations and wind turbines are increasingly constructed across traditional grazing lands as part of broader efforts toward carbon neutrality.

The project grows from my long-term relationship with local Tibetan pastoral communities. I lived alongside nomadic families for more than eight months and have repeatedly returned to the region over several years. Through sustained engagement with herders and their everyday lives, I have observed how the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure has altered landscapes, grazing practices, and relationships to land.

The photographs combine ground-based and aerial perspectives with a stark black-and-white visual language. Removing color shifts attention away from the picturesque associations often attached to the Tibetan landscape and emphasizes the geometric structures and material presence of industrial infrastructure. From above, vast fields of photovoltaic panels form abstract patterns across the plateau; from the ground, their scale is encountered alongside livestock, herders, and the rhythms of pastoral life. This contrast reveals the uneven relationship between monumental systems of energy production and the individuals living within their reach.

Rather than presenting renewable energy as either inherently beneficial or destructive, Beneath the Grid considers the complexities and contradictions embedded in the pursuit of sustainability. Informed by my background in cinematography, the project also incorporates moving image and sound, extending the photographic series into a multisensory installation. By bringing industrial infrastructures into dialogue with human presence and the fragile ecosystems around them, the work asks how environmental progress can be pursued without reproducing forms of social and ecological inequality.

Show Dates: Monday, October 19 – Friday, November 20, 2026 

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 24, 6–8 PM

Artist Talk & Closing: Saturday, November 14, 4-6 PM