Sand, Sand and Sand

Using sand as a material to create artwork has been an idea since 2017 when the photography project ‘My Tarim’ started. Afterward the journey in Taklimakan, I was wondering what is one sand looks like and how to record it, and how could I figure out how many or much sand(s) in the Taklimakan desert.

Continuously, my creation of works is committed to exploring and questioning the notion of identity, especially on self-identity. ‘My Tarim‘ is a homeland-finding journey through photography and driving exploration. ‘My Fictional Siblings’ is a work that is based on the longing of having siblings and the confirming process of my non-sibling identity since I am the only child of my family. ‘Sand, Sand and Sand.’ is an attempt at humanising sand through multiple methods and mediums.

Through a couple of times of traveling in Xinjiang, my collection of sand samples are more than a dozen. They are in different materials and sizes from the different sites of the Taklimakan desert, while each sample are existing as a mixture with approximate size. Despite their differences, in general, they were equally called ‘yellow sand’ by us. Once I tried to pick up and observe sand, I found it was not possible to separate one sand from the others.

To distinguish one piece of sand from a jar of sands shares the same difficulty to get to know a person from the world. None would care about sand.

I have encountered sand storms that covered light and air, the breeze that took off the sands to a curve on the top of the dunes. I have caught lizards crossing through the Tamarisk and dry bushes, and walked by the tombs and ruins that sands surrounded. I have observed the sands at daylight on my finger and tried to pick just one of them. I have stopped by the riverbed and lakeside which lays the sands, where I found life and death.

This will be a multi-installation project which includes multi-screen videos, installations, sculptures, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) photography, objects and sands from the Taklimakan Desert, etc.

Sand, Sand and Sand.

I used to hold you at my fingertips
But I can't tell which one is you
you and you and you
What is it like?
Have you and your collection
been separated by one area?
Are you like a cliff, like a boulder?
Are you like a scale or a heart?
Are you hiding a face?
Do you stack up something?
Are you just yourself?
Are you still wrapped, attached something?
When I try to separate you from yous
I can't seem to do this perfectly
there is always one or the other of you
will be with you
Accidentally
Maybe you are close to each-other
Maybe I'm just too demanding
just want to see you
you
and you
Nice to see you
you
and you
You are like a cliff, like a boulder
You are like scales like a heart
You are hiding your face
You are layer upon layer
You are not alone
You still wrapped, attached many things
that you might not knowing their weight
but you are you
every one of you
yourself
after I die
I will become you