2008

Micro-Landscape Series I, (微观山水1) projects a digital animated video onto two sides of a carved concrete cube. All of the characters’ outlines are carvings that depict each part of the ancient painting: Ma Yuan’s master piece, Xiang Ling Tu, shows an old man retired from the royal court, sitting on the edge of a mountain, playing his zither. Suddenly, something strange happens: a bird flies and lands on his shoulder, then tells him to leave the human world and go back to nature. In the video, all the aspects are part of a family- the old man has a connection to the landscape, he can call the bird and the bird responds. This series recalls the ancient philosophy of humans’ relationship with nature; but by using new materials and technologies in the animated video, this Series provides a transition from the original Song Dynasty’s paintings to a broader context.