Backward Compatibility
Synonym Lab
Partner Programme
13 — 21 Sept 2025
Art / Collectibles, Digital
13-21 September 2025
Annex
1 Tiverton St
London
SE1 6NT
#SynonymLab
The term Backward Compatibility originates in software, describing an upgraded system’s ability to support earlier versions. Reimagined here as a curatorial strategy, it frames artistic practice as a process of evolution that preserves traces of the past while opening toward new possibilities.
The Backward Compatibility Project unfolds across three exhibitions, each co-curated with a leading institution and exploring a distinct dimension of compatibility—generational, technological, or linguistic:
• Inner Ripple (Echoes of Material and Time) — Liu Gang
• Plural Futures | A Map of Asynchronous Tomorrows (Dislocated Arrival of the Future) — MANA Global New Media Art Platform
Programme Director: Yunxia Jiang
Curator: Weiwei Zhang
Executive Curator: Ke Bao
Visual Design: Teodora Dimitrova
Operations Manager: Jingyan Zhu (Ariel ), Chuhan Xiao
Equipment Partner: Kitto
Support from: MANA (Global New Media Art Company) and staff from the Design
Department at Goldsmiths, University of London
Collaborator: The Koppel Project
Operation Tech Collaborator: SuperIntern (AMMO)
Participant Artist:
Pinyu Wu
Weiyi Chen
Junying Jiang
Qiuwen Lyu (Luna )
Ariel Li, Peifeng Cai
Nayra Jayanegara
Jiawen Zin Zhang
Rui Tao
Yanliang Dai
Ruichang Hao
Weihang Zhu(Ash)
Ash Xu
Chanwoo Lee
Jiajun Shen
Yihang Bao
Xinyue Ma, Alexander Collinson
Tianxing Zhou, Chengkai Xu, Xinyue Yao
Yutong Zhang, Esther Wu, Chen Ruan, Tianxing Zhou, Qingyao Tang
Pola Pucheta, Semeli Tisarchontou, Valentina Bassanello, Qianyin Xia
• A Decade in Practice | Goldsmiths Design Alumni (2013–2023) (The Blurred Boundaries of Language) — Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
Festival Organiser: London Design Festival
Exhibition Organiser: Synonym Lab
Equipment Partner: Kitto
Academic Support: Goldsmiths Design Department Staff
Collaborator: The Koppel Project
Operation Tech Collaborator: SuperIntern (AMMO)
Participant Artist:
Nikki Gerak
Betty Zeng
Guoda Šulskytė
Eleanor Dunlop (retropxssy)
Cherrie Tong
Sanchit Bembi
Jieh-ming Huang (Jasmine )
Bethany Rigby
Megan Lim
Xiaohua Liu
Ace Romanova
Sophie Liu
Tee Byford
Zih-Jie Weng (Artemis )
Anran Duan
Em—Dash (Aarushi Matiyani and Saundra Liemantoro)
Backward Compatibility does not seek to retrace the past or prescribe a fixed future. Instead, it emphasizes continuity and coexistence, embracing open, plural, and non-linear connections across generations, media, and material systems.

















