Artist Biography
Axl Le (Yi Le, b. 1989, Shanghai) is a new media artist and filmmaker based in Oslo. Through his works, he critically engages with technology and media, investigates the aesthetics and ethics of virtual reality, and reflects on the existential conditions of human consciousness in a digitized world.
He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts at Shanghai University in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents 2025, a member of the European Film Academy, and a member of NBK (Norway) and M-Cult (Finland).
His works have been screened and exhibited at international institutions and art fairs, including Art Basel (Hong Kong), LOOP Barcelona, Microclima Festival (Venice), Museo d’Arte Orientale (Turin), HOW Art Museum (Shanghai), Tank Shanghai, CICA Museum (Gimpo), and Himalayas Museum (Shanghai). They have also been featured on platforms such as NOWNESS Asia (Hong Kong), Arte Tracks (FR & DE), Videotage (Hong Kong), and videoclub (UK). His films have received recognition at international animation festivals and media art platforms.
Axl Le, photographed by Ingvild Friis Bjerkeli, 2022.
European Film Academy — Axl Yi Le welcomed as a new member, 2025.
Selected Exhibitions
2025 · Absent Participation – As an Art Form of Images (Group) — CIC Creativity & Innovation Center, Shenzhen, CN
2025 · New Reality (Solo) — PJ Gallery, Metz, FR
2025 · Rear Window & Real Wonder (Group) — HOW Art Museum, Shanghai, CN
2025 · Post-Industry Poetry (Group) — One Art Gallery, Beijing, CN
2024 · The Ghosts of Avant-Garde: A New Generation of Chinese Media Artists (Group) — CIFRA, Online
2024 · Travellers Mirror Cities (Group) — Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai (MoCA Shanghai), Shanghai, CN
2024 · Group Exhibition of Young Visual Artists from Shanghai (Group) — Rong Art Center, Shanghai, CN
2024 · Both Sides Now 9: Generations (Group) — Fabrica Gallery, Brighton, UK; The Horse Hospital, London, UK; Eesa Contemporary, Manchester, UK
2024 · As the Sharp Narrative Fades, a Revealing Map Emerges (Part 2) (Group) — Chosun Gallery, Seoul, KR
2023 · FMK’s Q1 — Axl Le (Solo) — Chosun Gallery, Seoul, KR
2023 · Program Screening (Screening) — Microclima, Venice, IT
2023 · Group Exhibition of New Media Artists (Group) — Suzhou Bay Art Museum, Suzhou, CN
2023 · Distributed Program Celebrating MAUTO’s 90th Anniversary (Group) — Museo d’Arte Orientale (MAO), Turin, IT
2023 · Nature 2023 (Group) — Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA), Gimpo, KR
2023 · The Lumen Prize (Group) — Annka Kultys Gallery, London, UK
Selected Art Fairs
2025 · Art Osaka — Osaka City Central Public Hall & Creative Center Osaka, Osaka, JP
2025 · CURRENTS New Media — El Museo Cultural, Santa Fe, US
2024 · LOOP Barcelona — Cinemes Girona, Barcelona, ES
2024 · Art Basel — (Presented by Videotage) Cattle Depot Artist Village, Hong Kong, HK
2023 · KIAF Seoul — COEX Center, Seoul, KR
2022 · SIGGRAPH Asia — Sustainability & Non-Fungibility, Daegu, KR
2022 · Digital Art Fair Asia — Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, HK
2022 · NFT and Digital Arts Festival — Burj Park, Dubai, AE
Awards and Recognitions
The First Metahuman: Official Selection — Animac (Lleida, ES, 2024); Official Selection — Fredrikstad Animation
Festival (Fredrikstad, NO, 2024); Official Selection — Anima (Brussels, BE, 2024); Finalist — Minimalen Short Film
Festival (Trondheim, NO, 2024); Shortlisted — Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (Tokyo, JP, 2024); Shortlisted —
HiShorts! Xiamen Short Film Festival (Xiamen, CN, 2024)
The Journey: Official Selection — Ibrida Festival (Forlì, IT, 2024); Shortlisted — The Lumen Prize, Hua Award (London,
UK, 2023)
The Funeral: Official Selection — NOWNESS China New Talent Short Film Awards (Shanghai, CN, 2021)
Vincent: Official Selection — NOWNESS China New Talent Short Film Awards (Shanghai, CN, 2020)
Loop: Winner — Blast! Digital Generation Video Art Awards (Shanghai, CN, 2017)
Grants and Funding
2025 · Production Grant (NOK 70,000) — Joseph’s Midnight Party, Viken Filmsenter
2024 · Travel Grant (NOK 25,000) — Chosun Gallery Exhibition, Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA)
2023 · Research Grant (NOK 60,000) — Meta Interview, Viken Filmsenter
2023 · Production Grant (NOK 40,000) — The First Metahuman, Oslo Municipality and Mediefabrikken
Selected Lectures
Art Practice in the Digital Age: Video Games, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, 2023
Viken X: Creator Workshop with AI, Viken Filmsenter, Norway, 2023
Art as Education & Education as Art, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, 2023
Creative Inspiration and Practice of CG Short Films, Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, 2020
Articles and Features
Axl Le and Korean Star Lee Minho Drop “New World, New Meta” Concept Film, June 2023
Nowness China: 不会吧，这个周末你又加班啦？, July 2022 (Chinese)
Nowness China: Season of Survival: Journey, June 2022 (Chinese)
InStyle China: HUNTER, April 2022 (Chinese)
Yaho Finance: NFT and Digital Arts Festival, Alternative Reality, to Be Held at WOW Summit 2022, February 2022
WLDO: 주목해야할 천재 아티스트 , August 2021 (Korean)
Shots: Work anxiety just got a whole lot worse, Shots, July 2021
Stash Media: “The Patient” Short Film by Axl Le, July 2021
Fesch TV: THE PATIENT 病人 / AXL LE, July 2021
TheCGBros: CGI 3D Animated Short: "Vincent" - by Axl Le (Yi Le), July 2021
Tank Shanghai: NOWNESS 2021天才计划, December 2020 (Chinese)
China Academy of Art: NOWNESS 2020 天才计划特别展映 中国美术学院美术馆站, December 2020 (Chinese)
Arte TRACKS: Cyberpunk: Ist die Dystopie schon Realität?, October 2020 (French/German)
SHP Plus: The Cyberpunk Worlds of Axl Le｜乐毅的赛博庞克世界, July 2020 (Chinese)
RADII: “I am Chinese, I don’t eat Dogs”: Inside Axl Le’s Post-Apocalyptic Recipe Book, April 2020
MODERN WEEKLY: An Undefined Answer of Future, March 2020 (Chinese)
Stash Magazine: Join Axl Le and Alan Watts on “The Journey”, January 2020
NeoCha: Futureproof Geisha, December 2019
Nowre Fashion Magazine: 国潮都在做 “赛博朋克”，有什么不一样的？, May 2018 (Chinese)