Portfolio

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Japan’s public announcement that it was going to discharge nuclear wastewater into the sea didn’t get the attention it deserved because the pandemic was so much in the public eye. But to me, it’s serious because chemicals in the nuclear wastewater will cause mutation of the algae in the ocean, and what will human life be like in a few years if human beings coexist with these mutated and spread algae?

In this piece, I want to explore the impact of different radioactive substances on the ocean to present what human life will be like after the earth is polluted, as well as what human life will be like in the event of symbiosis or parasitism between human beings and mutated algae. Therefore, I investigated the morphological structure of algae, and wrapped the mutated structure with the casing made of the “living materials” that I believed them to be. I want this piece of work to raise people’s awareness of nuclear wastewater and environmental pollution.

LIKE — RCA · pp. 4–6 · Inspiration, sketches, material experiments and wrapping tests from the artist’s project archive

I use slime mold to simulate the spread of tumour cells.

Halting the growth of the slime mold by feeding it harmful substances in order to simulate the death process of tumour cells.

LIKE — RCA · pp. 1–3 · Sketches and making process from the artist’s project archive

The intertwined lines resemble both the rings of trees and the ripples created by falling water droplets. This wrapping form is also derived from a state of mind emptied in nature, representing extensions of natural forms.

These pure handmade wax models, which were dripped, are ultimately polished, refined, and then cast into sterling silver.

The second part of my “Eden” collection consists of a single piece. After recognizing that the circle is the most stable and harmonious shape, I abstracted a round, smooth form from a shell and used ceramic clay to sculpt the basic shape in preparation for the next step, which involves wax molding.

In the end, I decided to use vinegar-soaked rice to impart a natural color to the “shell ring.” This choice was inspired by the appearance of coral reefs in shallow ocean waters, which are often covered in traces left by shells that have adhered to them.

Jewellery & Metal Portfolio · pp. 3–4, 6, 12–14, 16, 18–21, 23–25

Therefore, I see “hand” as an important medium in my travel memory. It carries some of my most personal feelings about each city during my travels, as well as the smell of a city in my memory, the company of friends during the journey, and the unique traditional crafts in the city.

I investigated what different cities are like in my memory: Hangzhou is a city filled with the temple incense mixed with the damp air smell and people genuflecting with their hands folded; Xishuangbanna is a city with the swollen finger joints of weaving girls in Erlin’s primitive villages because of their long mechanical repetition of the same movement; and Xi’an is a city filled with buildings that exude a sense of history and the hand-holding movement between the friends accompanying me in my journey.

I drew the gestures of people praying for good luck with their hands folded in temples in Hangzhou, the mechanical repetitive movements of hard-working weaving girls in Xishuangbanna, and different gestures of my friends and I holding hands in Xi’an. These body languages are also one of my unique perspectives of memory.

LIKE — RCA · pp. 7–11 · Research and process photographs from the artist’s project archive