"Princes Sardine" (沙丁王子)
// BLURB //
Long before the modern mermaid learned to sit patiently on rocks and comb her hair, Chinese mythology imagined beings of the sea who belonged to a stranger, more fluid world. The jiaoren (鲛人), often described as mysterious people of the ocean, were said to weave underwater and shed pearls when they wept. Their stories blur the boundary between human and aquatic, between what can be known and what remains beautifully beyond reach. Perhaps this is where their philosophy begins: beneath the surface. Water has always carried a special significance in Chinese thought. It moves without argument, changes shape without losing its nature, and finds its way around obstacles rather than confronting them. The mermaid, drifting between worlds, seems to embody this same principle. Neither entirely of the land nor entirely of the sea, she belongs to the space between. Imagine her swimming through a school of silver fish, moving with the current rather than against it, perfectly at home in a world that asks no explanation of her. Even a tin can can contain an ocean, if only for the length of a story. Perhaps we are drawn to mermaids because they remind us that identity need not be fixed. We can exist between places, between versions of ourselves, between certainty and wonder.
Long before the modern mermaid learned to sit patiently on rocks and comb her hair, Chinese mythology imagined beings of the sea who belonged to a stranger, more fluid world. The jiaoren (鲛人), often described as mysterious people of the ocean, were said to weave underwater and shed pearls when they wept. Their stories blur the boundary between human and aquatic, between what can be known and what remains beautifully beyond reach. Perhaps this is where their philosophy begins: beneath the surface. Water has always carried a special significance in Chinese thought. It moves without argument, changes shape without losing its nature, and finds its way around obstacles rather than confronting them. The mermaid, drifting between worlds, seems to embody this same principle. Neither entirely of the land nor entirely of the sea, she belongs to the space between. Imagine her swimming through a school of silver fish, moving with the current rather than against it, perfectly at home in a world that asks no explanation of her. Even a tin can can contain an ocean, if only for the length of a story. Perhaps we are drawn to mermaids because they remind us that identity need not be fixed. We can exist between places, between versions of ourselves, between certainty and wonder.
EDITION, MEDIA, SIZE & WEIGHT
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2023
TFT display, acrylic painting on Plexiglass, media player, teakwood frame
51(W)×51(H)×6.5(D) cm // 12.1 kg
CRATE SIZE & WEIGHT
66(W)×66(H)×21(D) cm // 26.6 kg
EXPOSURE
“Cyberfeminity” at island6 Shanghai
CREDITS
Wang Chuanwen 王传文 (painting) • Zhang Tian Yi 张天依 (performance) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2023
TFT display, acrylic painting on Plexiglass, media player, teakwood frame
51(W)×51(H)×6.5(D) cm // 12.1 kg
CRATE SIZE & WEIGHT
66(W)×66(H)×21(D) cm // 26.6 kg
EXPOSURE
“Cyberfeminity” at island6 Shanghai
CREDITS
Wang Chuanwen 王传文 (painting) • Zhang Tian Yi 张天依 (performance) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
CLOSE-UPS
VIDEO
