vent (circle), 2022
Aluminium, metal fittings, hardwares, cables, vibration
45 x 240 x 240cm
Aluminium, metal fittings, hardwares, cables, vibration
45 x 240 x 240cm
The series of work vent builds on the research into Qian Xuesen (1911-2009), who was an important figure in the space and military programme of both the US and China. With a broad interest, he had an outsized influence on the field of science and engineering in general in China, and his contribution even extend to art, music, architecture and tradition Chinese medicine.
His life was indicative of the turbulent time of the 20th century, caught between the antagonism of major geopolitical powers. Born and raised in China, he went on to study in the US after finishing his bachelor degree. With a startling career in the US, he became a victim of the battle of ideologies. He was suspected to be a communist and a spy, which was unfounded. None the less, he had to go through lengthy house arrest, and was then released to China. Back to China, he became one of the founding father of Two bombs, One Satellite, which helped a war torn country with weak industrial foundation achieving an equal footing on the global stage. Thus the accusation came full circle and became a self fulfilling prophecy.
The narration of his life story has become a battlefield in itself, and the contributions he made has also become the technological foundations of the new era of confrontation which we currently live through.
Reading through different accounts of his life story, his time during the house arrest in California was most fascinating for me. It was a period of psychological torture, of helpless, of self-reflection and transition. The details of him and his wife’s experience was narrated based on their own memory, but dressed up to serve propaganda purposes in different forms. Three detailed accounts draw my attention: the constant harassing phone calls from the US authorities which was dropped the moment he picked up the phone; his prolonged silence led to a loss of language ability; and his indulgence in classical music with his wife through the simple instruments of guitar and wooden flute. These multitude of sounds (or the lack up) in the confined space, became symptomatic of the entangling complex layers of struggles.
Looking through the archival images of Qian Xuesen, The highly reflective surfaces of rockets and bombs attracts my attention. These highly engineered metal surfaces assembles into sphere or cone shapes. They symbolise hope and progress to a new age, and through its morphing reflection, they functioned as an optical lens capture the space and time of its creation.
His life was indicative of the turbulent time of the 20th century, caught between the antagonism of major geopolitical powers. Born and raised in China, he went on to study in the US after finishing his bachelor degree. With a startling career in the US, he became a victim of the battle of ideologies. He was suspected to be a communist and a spy, which was unfounded. None the less, he had to go through lengthy house arrest, and was then released to China. Back to China, he became one of the founding father of Two bombs, One Satellite, which helped a war torn country with weak industrial foundation achieving an equal footing on the global stage. Thus the accusation came full circle and became a self fulfilling prophecy.
The narration of his life story has become a battlefield in itself, and the contributions he made has also become the technological foundations of the new era of confrontation which we currently live through.
Reading through different accounts of his life story, his time during the house arrest in California was most fascinating for me. It was a period of psychological torture, of helpless, of self-reflection and transition. The details of him and his wife’s experience was narrated based on their own memory, but dressed up to serve propaganda purposes in different forms. Three detailed accounts draw my attention: the constant harassing phone calls from the US authorities which was dropped the moment he picked up the phone; his prolonged silence led to a loss of language ability; and his indulgence in classical music with his wife through the simple instruments of guitar and wooden flute. These multitude of sounds (or the lack up) in the confined space, became symptomatic of the entangling complex layers of struggles.
Looking through the archival images of Qian Xuesen, The highly reflective surfaces of rockets and bombs attracts my attention. These highly engineered metal surfaces assembles into sphere or cone shapes. They symbolise hope and progress to a new age, and through its morphing reflection, they functioned as an optical lens capture the space and time of its creation.