"What The Clay Could Not Hold" (泥土留不住的)
// BLURB //
There are things in this world that refuse to be contained. Nature, in its quiet insistence, reminds us that life was never meant to follow the boundaries we construct for it. A tree may begin in a ceramic pot, its roots carefully arranged within the limits of a vessel, but growth has its own ambitions. Beneath the surface, roots wander, divide, and reach into places no container can anticipate. Eventually, the vessel becomes too small for what it was asked to hold. But can something truly misbehave when it is only following its nature? Perhaps this is one of the oldest lessons of Daoist philosophy: the natural world does not need to be controlled to find its way. The Dao follows its own course, like water moving around obstacles, finding openings where none seemed to exist. To force nature into submission is to misunderstand its strength. In Chinese mythology, the world is filled with creatures whose power exceeds ordinary boundaries: dragons that command the skies and seas, spirits that move between worlds, forces that cannot be measured or possessed. Perhaps we are not so different. Some things are meant to grow beyond their surroundings. Not everything can be held.
There are things in this world that refuse to be contained. Nature, in its quiet insistence, reminds us that life was never meant to follow the boundaries we construct for it. A tree may begin in a ceramic pot, its roots carefully arranged within the limits of a vessel, but growth has its own ambitions. Beneath the surface, roots wander, divide, and reach into places no container can anticipate. Eventually, the vessel becomes too small for what it was asked to hold. But can something truly misbehave when it is only following its nature? Perhaps this is one of the oldest lessons of Daoist philosophy: the natural world does not need to be controlled to find its way. The Dao follows its own course, like water moving around obstacles, finding openings where none seemed to exist. To force nature into submission is to misunderstand its strength. In Chinese mythology, the world is filled with creatures whose power exceeds ordinary boundaries: dragons that command the skies and seas, spirits that move between worlds, forces that cannot be measured or possessed. Perhaps we are not so different. Some things are meant to grow beyond their surroundings. Not everything can be held.
EDITION, MEDIA, SIZE & WEIGHT
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2026
RGB LED display, acrylic & oil paint on Plexiglass, 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) • Chen Xingnan 陈兴南 (painting) • Helen Chen 陈韵涵 (reference photography) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2026
RGB LED display, acrylic & oil paint on Plexiglass, 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) • Chen Xingnan 陈兴南 (painting) • Helen Chen 陈韵涵 (reference photography) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
CLOSE-UPS
VIDEO
