New Spirit of Traditional Chinese Culture
"The highest virtue is like water. Water benefits all things without contention. It stays in places that people dislike. Therefore, it is close to the Tao (the Way)." Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 8
“Water” vs “Lantern”, the intangible vs the tangible; the form-less vs the form; the abstraction vs the expression….The amalgamation and symbiosis of polarized elements are explored in the concepts and expressions of this artwork – “Water Lantern”. Water nurtures lives. The simplest life in the form of protozoa begins in water. Simple microorganisms evolve into complicated species. Water - metaphor of “Vitality”.
The unique characteristics of Hong Kong lie in the mixture of activities, the intermingling of different cultures and the overlapping of multi-disciplines, both in the tangibles and the intangibles. The key words are ‘Energy & Freedom’. The “Water Lantern” draws inspiration from the unique characteristics of Hong Kong.
The “Water Lantern” takes the abstract form of water. It captures the expression of the poetic moment when rain drops fall on a water pond. When the droplets merge into water, ripples emerge; transmitting energies in the form of water waves, which vary with the nodes of the waves and the spreading of the ripples. This 3D sculptural form being set in motion with rhythm echoes the changes of the lighting and the music.
A sensational experience of all senses of an abstract space in motion will be created when one walks through along the paths created between the ‘Nodes & Ripples’. Translucent fabric, which is the major material of the “Water Lantern”, covers an area of about 50m x 40m. Eight hydraulic platforms installed with floodlights and LED lights are specifically located to create the ‘Nodes and Ripples’ effect. The fabric stretches up and down when the heights of the hydraulic platforms change in rhythm with the lighting and music. Being illuminated by the LED lights and fibre-optics,
sparkling gravels lie on the fringes of the ‘Ripples’ form the ‘Pool of Light’.