| "Shanshui is forgetting oneself in a larger picture, a skilled escapology into a world of wilderness beyond humans, a seemingly apolitical sphere of Taoist coexistence among infinite forms of beings, a punk spirit of decentralized structuring and letting each other be, an enjoyment of the external world that is almost purely psychological and introspective, a schizophrenic mind of irreconcilable political (dis)beliefs." – Yi Xin Tong |
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Extinction is a pair of tapestries that envisions an imagined world soon after the demise of the human species. Related to Tong's previous video-and-sculpture installation Poems in the Mount Lu Zoo (2015-20), these tapestries delve into the history of decline and transformation of a zoo situated in Tong's birthplace Mount Lu. As one of the most renowned mountain sites in China, Mount Lu is hailed as a cradle of Chinese religion, landscape painting, and literature. Tong is particularly fascinated by his hometown zoo, which was established in 1953. The place fell into disrepair during the 1990s and was eventually abandoned. Over recent decades, the pavilions that once housed diverse animals gradually were transformed into residential dwellings occupied by migrant workers. From 2015 to 2019, Tong revisited the former zoo annually, meticulously documenting its evolving conditions. He witnessed how nature had reclaimed the property and how squatters had adapted the cage architecture to meet their needs.
The materials used to compose these tapestries include photographs from Tong's field trips to the Mount Lu Zoo, video stills, 3D renderings of the animal pavilions, and speculative sketches for hypothetical sculptures and large-scale installations. The ongoing Animalistic Punk series explores how certain animal characteristics can be utilized to change the conventional roles and mental states of people in society. Tong's tapestries are allegorical collages and crowded representations of condensed ecologies, with a sense of temporal confusion. According to the artist, "composing them is an abstract thinking experiment on the acquisition, classification, extraction, and use of human knowledge." As the artist's largest tapestry work to date, Extinction is site-specific for "Shan Shui Reboot" and the inauguration of China Institute's downstairs multiuse space. |
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