LAWS
2025 Kunstakademie Düsseldorf Room 001
“Having nothing at all” is the primitive state of human dwellings and also reflects humanity’s future demands for architecture. The similarity between primitive and futuristic spaces lies in their stripping away of superficiality to reach the essence of things—to provide shelter, provoke thought, and evoke emotional resonance. Space exploration design is a quintessential example of this intersection. For instance, the Mars habitat designed by NASA and the architecture firm BIG is not only minimalistic but also entirely functional, resembling the caves that early humans once depended on. This minimalist aesthetic and functionality represent not only the starting point of human design but also its possible endpoint, symbolizing cycles and belonging. Cycles and belonging reflect humanity’s need for fundamental laws and the integration of art with space, making them one.Whether the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf building is a mountain or a spaceship, this room serves as a matching cave or chamber. Its form directly serves its purpose: the paintings, sculptures, sounds, and interplay of light and shadow. Together, they form a cohesive whole. The space is simplified because of them, and they, in turn, become clear and legible due to the building andits space.
PART I
01 | UNFORGIVEN
UNFORGIVEN, 2024-25, Wood panel, organic stained glass, sound installation, black velvet, (internal structure: sink, pipes), 720 × 187 × 73 cm
This is a work based on the original structure of the space, connected to the architectural framework. The idea stems from my own studio, where I intentionally constructed a similar space to escape the intrusive thoughts that arise while working. Its form references the confessional in Christian churches—a building within a building. Since my studio is located in a former monastery, I think I have been influenced by this religious architecture to some extent, viewing this small space as a confessional. In art, the concepts of right and wrong are dynamic. Like many artists, I often struggle with the lack of clear standards, so I see this space as a place where I can forgive myself.
The upper part of the structure features stained glass, depicting the Summer Triangle constellation. The colors are differentiated according to the primary and secondary stars, and light passes through the glass to form abstract patterns in the dark interior—a meditative abstraction of the summer night sky, which helps me relax. Behind the internal partition, a sound piece I collaborated on with a music producer plays continuously. It consists of sounds like deflating tires and flowing water, symbolizing the accumulation and release of emotions. This sound follows a pipe integrated into the larger building, one vast enough to bear the self-reproach that arises in art. It also represents the things you can feel but cannot see.
02 | SKYFISH( RODS )
SKYFISH ( RODS ), 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 350 × 240 cm
Underwater, on the water's surface, and in the sky, these three states reflect my understanding of the laws governing this planet —or rather, modern humanity's needs for the world. It is not realism, nor is it science. I find it strange that I can only articulate what it is not, without being able to provide an answer. I know it is something humanity needs. It resembles us—humans. In painting, it is liquid imitating liquid, a mirror of media blending and colliding under the influence of gravity.I suspect these laws will be missed even if humanity migrates to Mars. As long as humans remain within their physical shells, they will yearn for the comforting "laws," for the sense of security brought by unchanging principles.
03 | IDOL
IDOL, 2024-25, Wood panel, organic acrylic, digital inkjet print, red velvet, steel, candle, copper,Variable dimensions
It includes 300 youth portraits of historical artists (from the primitive period to the 19th century) that I have selected and combined with my own photograph into a single image. The database featuresauthentic portrait photography as well as AI-generated pre-photography-era artist portraits (e.g., an 18- year-old Raphael). This work reflects on the relationship between artists and their idols as it evolves over time, addressing the question: what does our reverence in art grow into?
Sacred icons and relics are essentially the same. Every artist is a book of art history.
04 | MUTIVATION
MUTIVATION，2024-25, Oil and acrylic on canvas, UV-Folie, LED-lights, 280 × 500 cm
I hope that when you look at this painting, other images come to mind—that’s exactly why it was created. Its purpose is to “evoke.” A kind of ancient memory. Imagine people in the Stone Age, preparing to set sail for the first time, looking out at the endless ocean—what were they thinking? They were imagining something beyond their sight. Their minds lit up with an image, and this function became the primal motivation for painting. The motivation wasn’t religion or magic—it was the brain’s function, a single thought.
05 | PORTAL
PORTAL, 2024-25 ,Wood panel, variable dimensions
06 | THE WONDROUS BEING OF TURE EMPTINESS
THE WONDROUS BEING OF TURE EMPTINESS, 2024-25,Wood panel, red spotlight, stainless steel, print auf OHP-Folie, variable dimensions
This entire wall is essentially a large “Vanitas motif,” transforming a 17th-century still-life theme into an installation.In the past, such worksserved as a form of warning and self-reflection—for instance, a reminder that all beautiful things and pleasures will inevitably face death and an end, revealing their illusory nature.
The Chinese translation of “Vanitas” incorporates the concept of “emptiness” (“空”). Here, “emptiness” means having nothing, but at a higher level, it suggests that there is still something within the void— content exists even in emptiness.For artists, creating art is a kind of pleasure. When we choose a form of expression, we already place ourselves in a position where we might have to confront the void.I wonder if this pleasure itself will also face an end. Do our emotions, memories, and experiences have a destination? I chose the black hole as a symbol because it represents an object of infinite mass that can trap even light. It is both a void and the opposite of a void. That is why we must continue creating. We will die, our works will disappear, but the universe will retain what it finds useful.
07 | SPACESHIP
SPACESHIP, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 350 × 240 cm
The image of the knight in the painting is inspired by the Dutch painter Gerard ter Borch's Man on Horseback Seen From Behind, which depicts a nameless knight retreating from our view in an exceptionally rare perspective. The distant architecture in the painting is derived from Qingdao's Catholic church and train station — two buildings responsible for "transporting" ideas between the East and the West. In a sense, they are "spaceships." They stand on the other side of a "door," representing the distant destination of the knight and his mirror image. They have seen what lies on the other side, yet they have forgotten themselves.
PART II
08 | VISUALIZATION II
VISUALIZATION II, 2024-25, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 200 × 500 cm.
The Visualization series is inspired by a late 18th-century murder case. The first panel of the triptych depicts the moment a Prussian Catholic missionary in Shandong was murdered, an incident that sparked the colonization of Qingdao. The triptych progresses from left to right, transitioning the visual narrative from the murder to Mars as a historical symbol of war, and finally focusing on Mars as a celestial body.
The Moon represents humanity's 20th-century achievements in space exploration, while Mars symbolizes the pinnacle of such efforts in the 21st century. The colonial ambitions of the past, shifting from territories on Earth to celestial bodies, reflect a change in motivation—from power expansion to the search for sustainable environments for humanity. This evolution from primal desires to the exploration of the unknown parallels the painter’s motivation in the act of creation.
09 | REPURPOSING ABAMDONED PAINTINGS ( STUDY OF A MOVING IMAGE II )
REPURPOSING ABAMDONED PAINTINGS ( STUDY OF A MOVING IMAGE II ), 2022-24, Oil on linen, print on archival paper, wood panel, adhesive tape, 50 × 40 cm
The image comes from a panoramic photograph taken in 1905 in my hometown, Qingdao, by Prussian Germany, preserved in the Federal Archives of Germany. Due to the composition of the image, which is divided into foreground, middle ground, and background, my initial idea was to process these three parts using three different colors.The painting contains eight sets of color combinations. However, one day, for reasons unknown, I decided not to complete this work. This unfinished piece, though incomplete, still left traces in a different way.
STUDY OF A MOVING IMAGE II, 2022-24, Oil on linen, 50 × 40 cm
Bild aus Bundesachiv Deutschland
10 | PRIVACY
PRIVACY, 2024, PVC-Folie, Variable dimensions
11 | STONE OLD MAN
STONE OLD MAN, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 95 × 60 cm
This reef, called "Stone Old Man," is located on the eastern coast of Qingdao. According to legend, it was formed from an old man who turned to stone while waiting for his daughter, who had been taken by the Dragon King. Standing 17 meters tall, it had endured for millennia until a thunderstorm in 2022 shattered the reef with lightning. This event deeply moved me, even from afar overseas. The theme of the artwork revolves around the concept of "plunder," simultaneously reflecting the plunder within the legend and the overwhelming force of nature's unpredictability, which acts as a form of plunder against future generations.
12 | BONES OF THE STONE OLD MAN
BONES OF THE STONE OLD MAN, 2024, Granite, 3D printing, copper, 40 × 120 × 15 cm
I brought fragments of the "Stone Old Man," shattered by lightning, from Qingdao to here. These fragments were combined with 3D-printed artificial bones, showcasing the relationship between the spirituality inherent in natural elements and the material properties of the organic human body. Naming a peculiar stone and witnessing its destruction by lightning transforms an immortal natural entity into a state with a finite lifespan. After death, a person can become "immortal" through the emotions and memories of the living. In this work, "imparting emotion" connects the dual characteristics of "destruction" and "continuation" of life on the boundaries of existence.
13 | CANGLANG TANK
CANGLANG TANK, 2024-25, Water, wooden board, telescopic machine, acrylic, PVC, stainless steel, water-soluble colors, metal film, 163 × 264 × 20cm
This spot serves as a passageway between two spaces and is also a focal point for the gaze within the room. In ancient.Chinese gardens or residential spaces, this position required the use of a man-made object that mimicked nature. These objects often appeared in the form of screens or pavilions. In Chinese, their meaning refers to a place where people pause, allowing them to interact with the man-made object and experience an abstract sense of “the distant”—something priceless. When such “man-made objects” become commodities in a capitalist society, they often carry an inherent contradiction: they exude elegance while also embodying a certain vulgarity. This contradiction is also a fundamental issue of art itself. However, it is not a cause for concern, as this issue can be resolved through a particular value system:we can adjust our pursuit of “value” and “price” at any time according to our own needs.
