Garden of Escape, Fountain of Furor

2024
Papier-mâché (made up of Chinese and Portuguese newspaper, ingredients of Chunambo, concrete, wall paint), wire, paint, water, screen
Dimensions variable

Extending from my previous work ‘Glaucus’, ‘Garden of Escape, Fountain of Furor’ is a self-portrait and an anthropomorphic space that explores Macao’s baroque- a hybrid composition of postcolonial European, traditional Chinese, and casino architecture.

Inspired by Tao Yuanming’s ‘Peach Blossom Spring’(桃花源記) and the story of ‘Lotus-eaters’ in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’, I look into the idea of escapism, protection, and home by exploring themes of defense mechanisms in psychology and nature.

Drawing inspiration from Taoist Cloud Calligraphy, as outlined in the book ‘Tao Magic: The Chinese Art of The Occult’ by László Legeza. I merged this vocabulary into tables of the ‘English alphabet’ and ‘Defense Mechanism’.

Fountain of Furor 2024
Papier-mâché (made up of Chinese and Portuguese newspaper, ingredients of Chunambo, concrete, wall paint), wire, paint, screen
Approx. 90 x 90 x 160 cm

I made a mixture of papier-mâché with Chinese and Portuguese newspaper, ingredients of ‘Chunambo’ and concrete to explore the shifting meaning of boundaries and materials at different times. ‘Chunambo’ (夯土), composed of brown sugar, oyster shells, gravel, and other ingredients, was employed by the Portuguese Army to construct city borders in Macao.

I, Scylla 2024
Papier-mâché (made up of Chinese and Portuguese newspaper, ingredients of Chunambo, concrete, wall paint), wire, paint, steel bar, tape
Approx. 65 x 90 x 110 cm

O, the Aposematism of a Greyhound 2024
Papier-mâché (made up of Chinese and Portuguese newspaper, ingredients of Chunambo, concrete, wall paint), steel bar, residue of clay, spray paint, lids of energy drink cans
Approx. 90 x 90 x 120 cm

L 2024
Papier-mâché (made up of Chinese and Portuguese newspaper, ingredients of Chunambo, concrete, wall paint),
Steel round tube, cable ties
Approx. 100 x 130 x 190 cm

C 2024
Papier-mâché (made up of Chinese and Portuguese newspaper, ingredients of Chunambo, concrete, wall paint), wire, paint, steel bar
Approx. 140 x 90 x 170 cm

Pas de trois 2024
Clay, paint
Approx. 60 x 50 x 20 cm