Breath is inspired by the climate change issue which has drawn public concern right now.
As we know, plants mitigate global warming through photosynthesis—by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, plants help the earth breath. The ability to soak up carbon dioxide and fix it in plants or soil, thereby reducing its concentration in the atmosphere is called Carbon Sink.
However, as the global temperature keeps rising, this kind of valuable ability of plants has been increasingly undermined.
Breath is an art installation that can sense the carbon dioxide concentration around plants. Its lights are green when the CO2 concentration is on the normal level, but if the concentration rises, the lights will turn into red, a color indicating danger. Scattered around plants, the spherical lights keep flickering to visualize the breath of plants for visitors.

BREATH

Seasons striding forward, the aged pass away while the newborn land with the cry. Day alternating with night, flowers bloom and droop as nature never halts its footsteps.
Flower, the essence of nature, has served as a carrier of profound emotions and free spirits for long. One can always express his feelings, either happiness or depression, passion or apathy, with a flower. 
Everlasting Flower Border takes the flower as the medium to set up an artistic domain integrating culture, nature, spirit and material in a concrete jungle.


THE EVERLASTING FLOWER BORDER


Using the garden as a carrier, Pavilion II continues the discussion about the relationship between man and nature against the cross-cultural context in the Anthropocene era.
In the history of human civilization, the garden has acted a significant role due to its dual property of nature and society. Its transformation between the private and the public gives expression to human’s attempt to take possession of nature; while actually, we are only a small part of the residents on earth, who share this planet with other species.
Being a localized element, the bamboo in my work is presented on a long scroll. Slender sprouts and blossoming bamboo together comprise an endless circular field. Echoing the artificial landscape at the centre of work, it serves as a metaphor for the infinity of the universe and the transience of humanistic nature. The structure of the main body reminds people of the tradition of building pavilions with bamboo which, as an important element of traditional gardens, enjoys a special status in the development of Chinese economy and culture. It is not only a cultural carrier pursued by the literati but also closely related with every aspect of Chinese people. Meanwhile, it is one of the valuable sustainable resources as it grows fast to absorb carbon emissions, perfectly in line with the current expectation for a more sustainable relationship between man and nature.
In the eye of the universe, the human history appears to happen in a twinkling. The nature we love, destroy and cherish may be a relic in this dimension, running into an unforeseeable era. 

PAVILION II

The inspiration of PAVILION I comes from the garden, a global cultural carrier. In the course of human civilization, garden has always played a significant role between nature and society. Stemming from the nature, a garden is actually a fairyland elaborately designed by people. It is a private space for us to stay away from the crowd, but at the same time, an open and ideal place for social contact.
Both in the East and West, garden has at its very core three elements: mountain, water, and pavilion. Mountain and water is a microcosm of nature, while a pavilion turns into the joint of nature and people when they halt steps, look up and enjoy the scenery before their eyes.
In this regard, garden serves as a perfect carrier for me to probe and discuss the relationship between humans and nature against the cross-culture context in the Anthropocene era.

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Alex Long Yuan

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