Past waters, Present waves

3D printed resin, wood, strings, metal, Chinese ink on paper, dimension variable
2025

The two-part installation consists of a hanging piece with 24 3D-printed Chinese seals, and a wall piece with 24 corresponding paintings with the seal marks. The work foregrounds the human role within machine-assisted creation, meditating on the impermanent individual existence in relation to the collective, and mediating between the nostalgia of ancient craft and present technological advances.

More from the artist

Seals have a long history and a unique position in ancient Chinese art. It represents social status, identity, personal interest, cultural icons etc. It usually belongs to an individual, with the person’s name inscribed on the bottom. It can leave a mark on a document or an artwork, signifying approval, authorship, possession, agreement etc. I received 3 of my own seals at the age of 8, hand carved by my calligraphy teacher. My father was fascinated by this art and tried to learn it at home. It turned out to be quite difficult and he didn’t finish carving another seal for me.

In today’s world of individuality, we are often driven to find our so-called true self, the unique self, setting ourselves apart from others, hoping to leave a unique trace in this universe. In this context, it’s difficult to grasp the liberating Buddhist concept of non-self (Anatta). Vietnamese Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh said that we are like waves in the ocean. We will be born and then cease to exist. Eventually, it doesn't matter who’s higher and who’s lower. We are all part of the ocean and are water in nature. The wave is just a temporary form.

The 24 seals can be seen as 24 hypothetical beings. Each of them has a 2-character Chinese name with a poem that the name originated. ChatGPT generated the names and poems with themes of cosmic emptiness. The poems were then inscribed by hand into the 3D seal models with a sculpting application on iPad. The seals were eventually brought to the physical world with a 3D resin printer. They are suspended from a wood board where they form the waves in the air. With Chinese traditional ink pad, they leave their marks on the 24 hand painted ink paintings, forming another composition on the wall.

The process involves a collaboration between humans and machines, where I maintain the artistic authorship, the production of meaning, while the machines extend my abilities and imagination. Despite the help from automation, the human hand was still present when each 3D model was crafted in the software, and then post-processed, sanded and assembled. I was the only worker on this assembly line slowly working through the repetitive steps. Despite the standardization, machine hiccups, human errors, physical conditions left each of the seal with unique imperfections.

By recreating the ancient art form with technologies of the present, I’m also touching on the idea from Walter Benjamin on Past, Present and Future as superimposing times, rejecting the teleology of progress. Benjamin wished to wrest a historical tradition anew from an empty continuum of forgetting. Constellations are the instance when the past “actualizes” in the present and assumes the “now of recognizability” in a flash. They result in revolutionary collisions or profane illuminations [1].

[1] Boym, Svetlana. The Future of Nostalgia. Basic Books, a Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2021.

Names and poems

1. Name: 星霁
Poem: 星河寂寥，无尽夜， 霁色如光，破晓时。 
Translation: The galaxy is silent, an endless night, But the clearing shines, heralding dawn's light.

2. Name: 云舟
Poem: 轻舟云上无痕迹， 渡尽万境过星河。 
Translation: A light boat leaves no trace on clouds, Crossing endless realms through the stars.

3. Name: 炎华
Poem: 炽烈如焰光中舞， 华彩盈空不落地。 
Translation: Dancing in flames, fierce and bright, Radiance fills the sky, never touching the ground.

4. Name: 涟音
Poem: 一声涟漪惊梦境， 无边声浪震宇宙。
Translation: A ripple stirs the dream, Infinite soundwaves shake the universe.

5. Name: 锐芒
Poem:  光芒如锋穿虚空， 锐利无形掠星穹。 
Translation: A sharp ray cuts through the void, Invisible, swift, it grazes the stars.

6. Name: 弦空
Poem:  弦音穿越无边夜， 琴声回荡在虚空。 
Translation: A string's tune pierces the endless night, The music echoes through the void.

7. Name: 霜曦
Poem:  霜雪静卧冰冷处， 曦光微露见新生。 
Translation: Frost lies still in the cold, The dawn reveals new life unfolding.

8. Name: 苍焰
Poem:  苍穹下焰火起舞， 烈焰映照未来路。 
Translation: Under the heavens, the flames dance, The blazing fire illuminates the path ahead.

9. Name: 光羽
Poem:  羽翼轻盈如光影， 划破长夜飞向明。 
Translation: Wings as light as shadows and rays, Cut through the long night, flying toward dawn.

10. Name: 幻星
Poem:  星河幻梦照无边， 光影交织织未来。 
Translation: Illusions of stars light the endless sky, Woven of light and shadow, the future unfolds.
These futuristic names and poems evoke images of light, space, technology, and cosmic journeys, blending human spirit with the vastness of the universe.

11. Name: 凌虚
Poem:  凌风踏虚入寂静， 无尽虚空现真形。 
Translation: Riding the wind into silence, The endless void reveals its true form.

12. Name: 星阙
Poem:  高阙星下映万世， 孤光照彻苍穹远。 
Translation: Beneath the high towers of stars, eons unfold, A solitary light shines through the distant sky.

13. Name: 晓枢
Poem: 晓光初启天地开， 枢机运转万象生。 
Translation: The dawn breaks and the world awakens, Gears turning, giving birth to all things.

14. Name: 霓岚
Poem:  霓光如岚绕山岳， 缥缈云间幻无形。 
Translation: Rainbow light swirls around the mountains, Fleeting and shapeless among the clouds.

15. Name: 幻曦
Poem: 幻境未明曦光起， 穿越时空映未来。 
Translation: From an unrealized dream rises the dawn, Crossing time to reflect the future.

16. Name: 寰宇
Poem: 寰宇万千星火燃， 无边浩瀚凝一念。 
Translation: In the vast universe, countless stars ignite, Infinite expanse condensed into a single thought.

17. Name: 澜心
Poem: 心如澜海无止息， 波光起伏映星辰。 
Translation: The heart is like a boundless sea, never at rest, Waves rise and fall, reflecting the stars.

18. Name: 炎穹
Poem: 烈炎翻滚照穹苍， 火海燃尽化星尘。 
Translation: Blazing flames light the vast sky, The sea of fire burns, turning to stardust.

19. Name: 玄羽
Poem: 玄羽如墨遮日月， 一展风云掠时空。
Translation: Feathers dark as ink block the sun and moon, A single sweep cuts through space and time.

20. Name: 逐电
Poem: 逐电风驰破长夜， 无声行走光速间。
Translation: Chasing lightning through the endless night, Moving silently at the speed of light.

21. Name: 烁晶
Poem: 晶莹烁烁映寰宇， 时光流转永恒间。 
Translation: Shimmering crystal reflects the universe, Time flows through the eternal expanse.

22. Name: 霁月
Poem: 霁月当空风不惊， 清光似水洗心尘。 
Translation: The clear moon hangs high in the undisturbed sky, Its pure light washes away the dust of the heart.

23. Name: 净宙
Poem: 净无尘埃寰宇清， 浩然万象化新生。 
Translation: Clean of dust, the universe is pure, Vastness transforms, birthing new life.

24. Name: 电霄
Poem: 电光破晓穿云际， 霄汉无边梦回生。 
Translation: Lightning breaks the dawn, piercing the clouds, The endless skies bring dreams back to life.