"The Ascent Within" (向境而上)
// BLURB //
There is a peculiar tragedy in becoming accustomed to an enclosed space. After enough time, its walls begin to resemble shelter, its boundaries a kind of geography. We learn every corner, every crack, every possible route to escape. We push, pull, climb, retreat, and try again. Yet the door remains stubbornly unfamiliar. After all, what is escape if not a small act of misbehavior? Perhaps this is the oldest human dilemma: whether to remain within the architecture of what we know or surrender ourselves to the uncertainty beyond it. Greek mythology gave us Icarus, who dared to ascend beyond the limits set before him. His story warns of excess, perhaps, but also reminds us that the desire to rise is inseparable from the risk of falling. Psychologically, the familiar offers comfort at the cost of possibility. The unknown offers possibility at the cost of certainty. Neither promises happiness, but only one allows us to discover what lies beyond our own making. Perhaps freedom begins not when the walls disappear, but when we stop mistaking them for the horizon. After all, even an uncertain world has one extraordinary advantage over a familiar vase: it is a world we have yet to explore.
There is a peculiar tragedy in becoming accustomed to an enclosed space. After enough time, its walls begin to resemble shelter, its boundaries a kind of geography. We learn every corner, every crack, every possible route to escape. We push, pull, climb, retreat, and try again. Yet the door remains stubbornly unfamiliar. After all, what is escape if not a small act of misbehavior? Perhaps this is the oldest human dilemma: whether to remain within the architecture of what we know or surrender ourselves to the uncertainty beyond it. Greek mythology gave us Icarus, who dared to ascend beyond the limits set before him. His story warns of excess, perhaps, but also reminds us that the desire to rise is inseparable from the risk of falling. Psychologically, the familiar offers comfort at the cost of possibility. The unknown offers possibility at the cost of certainty. Neither promises happiness, but only one allows us to discover what lies beyond our own making. Perhaps freedom begins not when the walls disappear, but when we stop mistaking them for the horizon. After all, even an uncertain world has one extraordinary advantage over a familiar vase: it is a world we have yet to explore.
EDITION, MEDIA, SIZE & WEIGHT
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2026
RGB LED display, Chinese papercut (Jian Zhi 剪紙) on Plexiglass, Chinese ink on Vietnamese linen embedded in hand cast resin, teakwood frame
120(W)×120(H)×5.5(D) cm // 46 kg
CRATE SIZE & WEIGHT
132(W)×132(H)×21(D) cm // 86.9 kg
EXPOSURE
“The Fourth Wall” at island6 Shanghai
CREDITS
Zhang Tianyi 张天依 (performance) • Tang Dashi 汤大师 & He Dashi 贺大师 (Chinese paper cutting 剪紙) • Shengqiu Li 李生秋 (calligraphy) • Helen Chen 陈韵涵 (cinematography) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2026
RGB LED display, Chinese papercut (Jian Zhi 剪紙) on Plexiglass, Chinese ink on Vietnamese linen embedded in hand cast resin, teakwood frame
120(W)×120(H)×5.5(D) cm // 46 kg
CRATE SIZE & WEIGHT
132(W)×132(H)×21(D) cm // 86.9 kg
EXPOSURE
“The Fourth Wall” at island6 Shanghai
CREDITS
Zhang Tianyi 张天依 (performance) • Tang Dashi 汤大师 & He Dashi 贺大师 (Chinese paper cutting 剪紙) • Shengqiu Li 李生秋 (calligraphy) • Helen Chen 陈韵涵 (cinematography) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
CLOSE-UPS
VIDEO
