sculpture

瓜熟蒂落,水到渠成。
A melon falls off its stem when ripe, a stream is formed when water flows

In fall the lotus blossom loses its last petal and produces a seed pod. Despite the crude wilting of the pod and stem that follows, the plant itself lives on, year after year. The very graceful Guanyin, an incorporation of the Buddha, takes her seat upon a large lotus seed pod. The seed pods are seen at tea ceremonies as well as in Buddhist statues.

What if I was a lotus plant? Would I be able to endure the cold freezing winter waters and produce a blossom year upon year? Would I have the patience to craft each seed and each pod, only to see them dry and disappear for another winter?

This piece is my answer. Or at least what I see as an answer.

film

Fear sameness above all else

Inspired by Austrian designer Stefan Sagmeister’s short film series ‘Now Is Better’ and ‘Six Things’, ‘Fear Sameness Above All Else’ is a lens-based exploration of perspective, typography and change. Each word of the sentence is presented in a changing scenario that, to some extent, opposes the literal meaning of the word.

Installation

Fifty-five by nine

Bamboo is not only a traditional building material in China, but it is also found in the huge scaffoldings erected to create modern architecture. Bamboo represents nature, growth, adaptivity, and emanates a sense of tranquillity; yet at the same time, it is symbolic of the structures created by human: artificial, static and overwhelmingly complex.

Inspired by this unique relationship of natural and man-made objects, Fifty-five by Nine explores the role of organic form in space. Through a lattice of vertical poles, adjacent walls, light and shadow, the installation attempts to influence and define an empty space. As viewers move through it, the obtrusiveness and density of the structure call to question how urban spaces influence an individual’s behaviour and emotions.

Acrylic on Canvas

少先队
The young pioneer

As a foreigner studying in a Chinese local school, I was obliged to wear a red necktie everyday- like all of my friends and classmates, and promise my loyalty towards the Chinese Socialist Youth Organization. Looking back, it was an interesting but a conflicting practice: a cultural identity is forcefully imposed and responsible for shaping the personal identity of myself, during a stage in life when I had little understanding of the importance of identity.

©2023