Art Installation
Zhoushan. 2023 
Hello Zhoushan Art Installation Competition, Nominated

a project in Collaboration with Yiyao Tang.

01 Green Re-greened

Shengshan Island - Deserted Village

In “Attunement: Form in Motion,” Anna Tsing accentuates the intricate entanglement and symbiotic relationship between human and the more-than-human. She provokes a profound query, pondering, “The Anthropocene collates projects of erasure, and we forget that we need companions. What might it take to bring us back into remembrance?”

As human traces fade amidst the wilderness, the terrain that once bore witness to human habitation succumbs to a gradual, inexorable reclamation by nature. The passage of time erodes the village’s original name, rendering it an enigmatic and desolate village on the island’s periphery. Overgrown with ivy and vines, the abandoned stone edifices, staircases, and railings erase the vestiges of human presence, thereby giving rise to an evocative landscape evoking an aesthetic of ruins. Hypothetically, were humans to recolonize these stone houses, the symbiotic tendrils of ivy and vines would be uprooted, stripped, and burned. Nevertheless, the enigmatic question lingers: who, in truth, claims custodianship over this land?

Intriguingly, Green Re-greened invites individuals to reexamine and introspect the world constructed with human-centric eyes, through the lens of symbiotic coexistence.

By virtue of these form transformations, Green Re-greened evokes the imagery of temporal passage and nature reclamation. The intricate interplay of artificial constructs and the organic milieu unveils the intricacies of the Anthropocene. In this abandoned village, traces of human presence intertwine with the topographic and ecological trajectory of the region. Thus, the lifted surfaces and the growth of plants embodied by the installation serve as a metaphor for the dialectical

interplay between human agency and natural evolution. Consequently, human activities engender transformations in the physiognomy of the land, while the forces of nature remain ceaselessly engaged in reconstruction and resurgence.


青苍 · 嵊山岛无人村

当人迹消失于山野之间，这片曾经是人类巢穴的土地最终被自然溢满，占领。时间侵蚀了村庄原本的名字，现如今成为岛屿边缘沉默、如谜的无人村。藤蔓植物爬上了被遗忘的石屋、阶梯和扶手上，覆盖了人存在过的痕迹，创作出一片废墟美学。如果人再次占用这片石屋，藤蔓植被将被掀起、剥落和烧毁。但是，这个问题的答案始终静默如谜：到底谁是这片土地真正的主人呢？

“青苍”邀请人们通过共生共存的视角，重新审视和反思以人类为中心而构建的世界。此提案定格了清除植物墙面时这一掀起的动作，向外弯折，让被掀开的曲面框架为藤蔓植物增加了另外两个生长表面。同时，这个弯折的曲面也形成了一个半室外的空间，让人们在藤蔓植物的庇护下歇息，也让人们调动五感，倾听自然的生长的声音，关注环境变化的律动。在这样的凝思中，去回想人和植物如何纠缠、共生，并在过去和未来之间建立更深的连接。

“青苍”通过形式上的变化，展现了时间流逝和自然重新占领的意象。人造物与自然界的交替交织，正揭示了人类纪的复杂性。在这片无人村，人类的存在和离去成为地区表面形态和生态系统演变的一部分。装置所呈现的墙面弯折和植物生长，成为对人类活动与自然演化相互交织的隐喻。我们的行为曾改变这片土地的面貌，但自然力量也在不断地重塑与重启。

02 Earth Unearthed

Gouqi Island - Sunset Beach

Earth Unearthed proposes an action - lifting. By slicing and lifting the surface of Sunset Beach, this project is establishing both an erection and an excavation.

With its history of fishing, production, and residing, Gouqi island seamlessly merges human habitation and natural history, through long resistance against natural forces such as Typhoons and tides. Roads, seawalls, power stations... we developed infrastructure to extend the inhabitable area on land: even off-land by "farming" grids of mussels in the near ocean. The surface of civilization often conceals the natural and geographical memory beneath - that said, perhaps the “primitive” has always coexisted on the underside of “civilization”. What happens when we peel this surface off?

Our proposal faces the ocean, peeling off from the cliff diagonally. The lifted new ground steps up in stairs, curving inward to form an amphitheater, a public ground where people could linger and gather. Towards its back, latex rubbings sampled from the rocky surfaces of Gouqi Island’s coastline, hang below the lifted structure. Underneath it, the undulating topography of the beach is further manipulated to offer a playful, explorable, restful sand-scape.

In “Sculpture in the Expanded Field” by Rosalind E. Krauss, she explains how the terms “Architecture,” “Landscape” and their negation form a square where possibilities of sculpture could be exhausted. As a sculpture without a pedestal, a “marked site” without memorial significance, Earth Unearthedinhabits the quadrant of “Landscape and not-Landscape”.

In another sense, the latex surfaces are a rubbing of the natural landscape, and the artificial sand-scape is an abstraction of topography: both speak for nature, yet remain a reflection of some reality elsewhere. This new site is not referring precisely to any existing site (non-documentary), nor reflecting a historical site (non-memorial) - it is a fictional site, a territory not yet marked on the map, unearthed with a fresh scent of salted, moist soil. At dusk, through the spotted skin, you see rusted sunlight, the night falling, and memories of the land unroll from the time behind to the time ahead.


赤地 · 枸杞岛日落沙滩

“赤地”讲述了一个动作：掀起。通过把日落沙滩的地面划开、掀起，便同时完成了竖立和挖掘。

枸杞岛的渔业、生产和居住，在长久地与台风、潮汐等自然力量的对抗过程中，反而将人类生活与自然历史全然地融合。公路、堤坝、高压电...基础设施网络帮我们拓宽了在陆地上可生存的区域：甚至连近海也可以为养殖贻贝“放牧”所用。如果说这些文明进程的表面，总是将自然与地质记忆深藏其下，那么“原始”其实一直在“文明”的背面共存着。假设我们将这个表面掀起呢?

该提案面朝大海，从崖岸斜向撕下。被抬升的新的大地，呈阶梯状向上，并向内弯折形成一个露天剧场，为人们创造了一个可以停留和集会的公共空间。绕到它的背后，会看到乳胶拓片挂在掀起的结构骨骼之下，拓片将采样于枸杞岛海岸线的岩石地表。在其下方的沙滩被进一步塑造，以提供一个可玩耍，可探索，可休憩的沙丘地景。

罗莎琳·克劳斯（Rosalind E.Krauss）在《扩展场域的雕塑》一文中，展示了如何以“建筑”和“景观”及其反义词所界定的四种象限去穷尽雕塑可能的所有状态。作为一个没有基座的雕塑，一个没有纪念意义的标记场地, “赤地”极有可能在“景观”且“非景观”的象限里展开。

换句话说，乳胶面是自然景观的拓印，人造地景则是对地形起伏的抽象表达：两者皆旨在自然，却停留在一种对他处真实的映照。这一层新的大地，既不是借指现有的（非纪实）、也不是回溯历史的（非纪念）——而是一种科幻的场地。地图上尚未被记录的领地，直到被我们翻起时才露出咸腥、潮湿的土壤。 黄昏，透过斑驳皮肤你看见绣红色的太阳余晖，夜幕在下沉，大地的记忆从你以前到你身后，蔓延。

03 Rock on Rock

Gouqi Island - Sunset Beach

Earth Unearthed proposes an action - lifting.

Somewhat destructive, somewhat preservative, a waterfall of dark rocks rushes down through the village, into the ruins, and towards the ocean. This penetrating force of gravity reinvestigates the stone artifacts.

The word “Ruin”, from Latin Ruere, meaning to fall, has thus always been associated with falling stones. This interconnectedness between rocks and ruins inspires the imagination of the passage of time.

On Dongfushan island, rocks and stones compose the entire environment, from the rocky landscape to walls, wells, stairs, and all aspects of life. From the 1950s to the 1970s, villagers constructed houses with gravel and later stone bricks made       on-site, building unique stone houses. Due to the immense weight of the stones, these houses were a collective effort of the entire community and carry with them precious memories. Yet, fast-paced urban development had rendered the village obsolete, and as the islanders moved out, the stone houses were left unattended. The project creates a new layer between natural and man-made, between the raw boulders and the processed stone bricks. The selection of similar-sized dark rocks cascades through the village, taking over the ruins, and incorporating them into a new story.  

Here, again, these tamed natural rocks are left untamed, flowing free within the site and waiting to be regained by nature.

Rock on Rock occupies the quadrant of “Landscape and Architecture”, reminiscing the past and tracing the origin of our built environment. In early prehistoric times, rocks and stones are often placed in geometric shapes to mark sites. The intentional placement of rocks can be understood as the first gesture of architecture.

This procession of rocks offers an opportunity for people to simply observe the natural landscape and the traces of memory in the old village, simultaneously experiencing interwoven layers of natural and human history. This installation invites people to connect with the ancient past and reflect on the evolution of human interactions with nature over time. The imminent experience of wandering through the rocks allows people to attain a transcendent understanding of the past and future.


重山 · 东福山岛石屋群

或许是带有破坏性的，又或许是保护性的，一条由暗色岩石组成的瀑布冲刷村庄，流过废墟，直至大海。这件充满重量和冲击感的作品，正在重新审视“石头”一物。

巫鸿在《废墟的故事》一书中提到，英语中废墟（Ruins）一词源自拉丁语“Ruere”，意为坠落，因此一直与落石的意象相连。石头与废墟之间的紧密关联，使其成为怀古的对象。两者回应了时间的流逝，并激发人们对过去的想象。

在东福山岛，目之所及，石头几乎构筑了整个环境——从石块散落的地貌，到石墙、石井、石阶梯等等。从70年代开始，村民们淘汰了碎石和泥土，转为用开凿加工的石砖搭建更为坚固的石屋。由于石材沉重，盖房子就变成了整个村子的集体行动，承载着温暖的回忆。然而，城市化的进程让村庄逐渐落寞，随着村民的搬迁，这些石屋也被人遗弃、遗忘。“重山”就在自然与人造之间，在原始巨石与砌筑石砖之间，构建了一个中间层。选用大小相近的石块，铺设成路，让它流过村庄占据废墟。

这些被制服的石头，以自由流动的姿态出现，正等待被大自然重新占有。

“重山”正处于既“景观”又“建筑”的象限。它引导我们回顾过去，回望建筑环境的起源。在史前时代，人们常常通过放置石头来标记场地。这种有意识的岩石摆放可以被理解为建筑最初的姿态。

跟随着石块的队列，人们可以直白地看到自然景观，看到无人村中生活的痕迹，体验自然和人类历史的交织。该装置邀请人们与遥远的过去建立连接，并反思人类与自然互动跨世代的演变。漫步在岩石小径上，穿梭于巨石之间，这样的具身体验让人们能超越当下和未来，去感悟时间。

Ocean to Ocean proposes an artifact of “ocean”, amongst ocean.

Different from continental civilization, islanders believe in the ocean. The fog and wind on the ocean rule the fisherman’s harvest, while Mazu goddess blesses the sailors... their cooking, building, and entire living have long endured the raw environment full of drastic changes.

The ocean bears, receives, gives, and at times destroys. Knowledge, technology, and intelligence accumulated through seasons are now seamlessly assimilated into the village. Beyond documenting and celebrating the wisdom, forms, and symbols, can we bring back more identity to the island and its people?

The intelligence of the ancient perhaps offers tender answers to the question of "artifact against nature." The Chinese fishing net (Zeng) is a delicate fishing system that maximizes man-force while dealing with the ocean. Around 10 meters high, a cantilevering structure suspends a net over the sea, balancing it with counterweight rocks hanging from ropes at the other end. Since an individual net cannot be continually operated in tidal waters due to its limited operating depth, different installations are deployed depending on the state of the tide.

Borrowing the ancient wisdom of the fishermen, an interactive tensile system of suspended mesh curtains and rock counterweights forms everchanging curves that reproduce the oceanic waves.

Across the 90 meters pier on Chaishan Island, a metal-framed corridor suspends a series of mesh canopies, controlled by a tensile system counterbalanced by rocks resting on the ground. Mist spray heads are installed among the metal frames, transforming the ocean water into an immersive fog that envelops the pier. As visitors walk along the corridor, the cooling mist from the ocean gently caresses them.

Ocean to Ocean responds to both the form of oceanic tidal changes and the delicacy of raw-made artifice. People are encouraged to move the rocks around and pull the cables, bringing changes to the mesh space. Undulating, unceased... through interaction, collaboration, and consensus, the installation engages the public as communities and collectives, with the poetic language of the ocean.


复海 · 柴山岛滨海步道

“复海”在海的中央，再次提出一场人造物的“海洋”。

与大陆文明不同的是，岛屿的子民信仰海洋。有妈祖庇佑出海的船员，海雾和海风掌控着渔民的收成...一切饮食、建造和生活，都在充满了剧变的粗野环境中，坚韧地延续了下来。

海洋能孕育、接收、给予，有时也能摧毁。在季节交替中所累积下来的知识、技术和智慧，如今已无声地消解在村庄里。通过记录并纪念这种智慧，它的形式和它的符号，我们能不能将更多的身份认同带回给海岛和它的子民?

先民的智慧，也许为我们提供了一种“造物对自然”的柔软解答。中式渔网，古称吊罾，是一种巧妙的捕鱼装置，可以最大化人力从而与海水抗衡。高约十米，悬桁一端挂网，延伸至海面，另一端由绳索绑石块用以平衡。由于它的操作深度限制，单个渔网并不能通用于所有的潮汐状况。针对不同的浪潮，有不同的装置可用。

这件交互式公共艺术装置引鉴了渔民的古老智慧。通过绳索牵拉系统，悬挂的网纱和平衡物石块构成了一条条不断变化的曲线，再现了海洋的波浪。

在柴山岛约90米长的堤坝上，金属支架连廊挂起一连串的网纱吊棚，通过吊绳系统，被地面上的石块牵拉联动。 金属支架上装有喷雾装置，当游客在连廊中漫步时，可以感受到凉爽水雾带着大海的气息拂过。

“复海” 既回应了海洋潮汐变化的形态，也回应了一种粗野造物的精密性。人们可以搬动石块、拉动绳索，来改变网纱空间的形状。在互动中，装置不断地起伏、变换...，在合作和协同中，公众通过艺术装置逐渐融入社区和集体。这是属于海洋的，诗意的语言。