Seeds of the World: Overture

3-screen video installation, color, sound
10mins
2022

Seeds of the World: Overture is a three-screen video installation inspired by Gulangyu Island, situated off the southeastern coast of China. It aims to explore fundamental questions within the context of the Anthropocene. The island, often revered as a sacred or mountainous sanctuary amidst the ocean, serves as a backdrop for contemplating themes of re-origination and re-imagination. The artwork delves into how the seeds of modernity have permeated and flourished within the transition from civilized lands to untamed islands.

Divided into three parts, the video installation initiates a dialogue through a careful arrangement of images and music. Utilizing industrial technology, exotic flora, and sunlight as narrative motifs, the piece serves as an overture, setting the stage for an exploration of modern civilization’s seeds within the realms of myth, history, and the present. This journey is marked by both moments of joy and crisis, echoing like a haunting melody amidst the twilight on the primitive island.

The initial aggression inherent in the narrative gradually gives way to an ambiguous state, reigniting contemplation on the dichotomy between nature and civilization. This prompts a continuous examination of the relationship between the savage mind and the complexities of modern society.

Special thanks to Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Kulangsu Art Park and Capsule Shanghai.

世界的种子：序曲

三屏影像装置, 彩色, 有声
10分钟
2022

《世界的种子：序曲》是一件三屏影像装置作品。本作品以中国东南沿海的岛屿作为背景，试图在人类世的语境下，重新思考岛屿作为海洋中的神圣土地，亦或海中山，如何成为一种有关再次起源与重新想象的母体，以及“现代性的种子”如何在所谓的文明之地向荒野之岛的流动中蔓延与生成。作品中的三部分影像通过图像与音乐的编排产生对话，以工业技术、外来植物、海滩日光浴为线索，通过一种“序曲”的形式，描述了“现代文明”的种子在神话、历史与当下的交织语境中，携带着愉悦与危机，如一个幽灵之音，在黄昏时分潜入浪漫的原始之岛的过程。从伊始的侵略性逐渐发展成暧昧不明的状态，它再次搅动了自然与文明的区隔，触发了关于野性思维与现代文明关系的持续思考。

特写感谢：三影堂摄影艺术中心、鼓浪屿美院、胶囊上海。