REALM OF RENEWAL

Lua Rivera & Lee Kuei-Chih 

“Spring” in Chinese culture symbolizes renewal and hope—the moment when all things revive and the old year gives way to the new. Inspired by this seasonal transition, the work transforms the joy and blessings associated with the New Year into a series of layered, curved arches, forming a spatial installation through which visitors can walk and experience the work from within. The primary material of the installation is bamboo. Bamboo is both resilient and flexible in nature, symbolizing environmental sustainability as well as the spirit of East Asian aesthetics. The outer and inner layers of the arches are interwoven with red fabric, evoking the expressive quality of landscape painting in space. The flowing red lines represent blessings and the continuity of cultural energy, resembling cultural roots rising from the depths of the land and connecting history, memory, and collective identity. As visitors move through the structure, they feel as though they are entering a realm where red clouds gently flow and gather. The space creates an atmosphere of auspiciousness and celebration, symbolizing the beginning of a new year and carrying wishes for good fortune, blessings, and hope.

 

The work functions both as a reinterpretation of traditional culture and as a festive poem in which natural materials and contemporary environmental art intertwine. Realm of Renewal unfolds along three conceptual axes: Transformation, Coexistence, and Flow. Transformation refers to translating the symbolic imagery of the Spring Festival into a three-dimensional spatial experience, allowing cultural symbols to become a perceivable environment. Coexistence speaks to the relationship between nature and culture. Bamboo embodies resilience and regeneration, while red symbolizes human emotion and festive spirit; together they create a dialogue between people and nature, tradition and contemporaneity. Flow represents the continuity of time and life.

Through the rhythm of bamboo arches and flowing red lines, the work expresses the poetic renewal of culture as it moves and evolves through time.

All the fabric is repurposed material donated by Yee Chain International Co., Ltd.