A HARMONIOUS SYMPHONY OF ECOLOGY AND ART

Floral Artist Zizi Wang Presented her Work “Migration” at The Sustainable American Hardwood Contemporary Design Exhibition

The Sustainable American Hardwood Contemporary Design Exhibition “Echoes of the Woods” was successfully held at Former Residence of Hotung Robert in Shanghai this September. As the initiator and sponsor of the exhibition, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has been committed to enhancing public recognition of American hardwood, highlighting its excellent characteristics and the unique aesthetic value as well.

AHEC has hosted numerous design projects globally, including ‘Connected’ in 2020 and ‘Discovered’ in 2021 at the Design Museum in London, as well as ‘SLOW’ at the Madrid Design Festival 2023, etc. This thematic exhibition in Shanghai invited ten young Chinese designers and artists to explore the resonances and echoes between nature, humanity, society and all things, using American hardwood as the main material.

Visitors navigated through the interactive art pieces, gaining up-close experience of the diverse applications of natural wood in design and art. While appreciating the beauty of the works, they were able to examine the connections between humanity and nature and contemplate profound issues related to the environment and sustainable development. The “Migration” created by Zizi Wang, the nature artist and professor of Floral Art Design in America, became a highlight of the exhibition, attracting many visitors to take photos. The artwork demonstrated her deep understanding of natural beauty and Chinese culture, and helped visitors build connections and echoes between humanity, nature and time.

Resonances Between Humanity and Nature

The theme of this exhibition “Echoes of the Woods” demonstrated respect and tribute for natural ecology. Zizi saw “echoes” as the expression of interactions between living beings and elements in the natural world. She believes that humanity and nature are interdependent, and human behavior and activities can have profound impacts on the environment. The artwork “Migration” drew inspiration from the traditional Chinese cultural concepts of the twenty-four solar terms and “Twelve Flora”, giving time different dimensions through monthly flowers and poems. Zizi hoped that through interaction, audiences could experience the charm of traditional culture and fun of innovation, and feel the profound resonances between humanity and nature.

She designed twelve mirrored panels forming an elliptical installation symbolizing the cycles of life and eternal flow of time. Each mirror displayed the flower of the corresponding month behind it, symbolizing changes in the natural world and rhythms of life. The mirrors featured a specially customized effect with graduated reflectivity. This allowed visitors in front of the mirrors to see not just their own reflections, but also vaguely perceive woodgrain patterns in the background.

This interactive effect blended the visitors’ figures with natural textures, enhancing the sense of connection between humanity and nature. Viewers could move freely between the mirrors, observing the flowers and their own reflections in different mirrors, engaging in a dialogue with time – recollecting the past, examining the present and envisioning the future.

Symphony of Woods and Flowers

In this art installation, Zizi featured American red oak to convey her design concept. American red oak derives its name from the red color of its leaves in autumn, renowned for its distinct grain and natural beauty. Generally, the sapwood of red oak appears light brown while the heartwood is typically pink to red-brown in color. Zizi believes that wood is a precious natural resource gifted to humanity, and incorporating botanical elements in art creations makes the works more intimate, conveying the innate connections between humanity and nature through interaction.

Besides, American red oak has very good strength and outstanding steam bending capabilities. Through in-depth understanding of red oak’s characteristics, she found that its hard texture and excellent machining performance made the design implementation smoother and the works more tactile. Zizi specially chose a semi-closed coating to maximally retain the wood’s natural grain and pores. It took over ten days to produce each mirror, during which she ceaselessly contemplated every texture. Strict control over details imbued each completed floral mirror with unique vitality and texture, as if softly telling the stories of life to viewers.

In designing floral elements, Zizi ingeniously integrated innovation with tradition. For example, she used traditional shadow puppet-making oxhide to depict the form of orchids, with the oxhide’s fine texture complementing the orchids’ elegance. Zizi deftly combined intangible cultural heritages with modern aesthetics, injecting new vitality into traditional crafts.

The chrysanthemum form utilized pins while camellia applied softened shells and pearls. Zizi explained this was an innovative application of the traditional “floral inlay” craft – embedding metal materials to depict floral textures, adding depth and lustre to the pieces. The floral forms presented by Zizi were delicate yet full of vital tension, conveying not just the fragility and tenacity of botanical blooms but also profound contemplation of life and time.

Each floral element in “Migration” tells a different story, with the design of peach blossoms featuring soft curved forms and delicate textures symbolizing spring revival and hope for life. From the tenacity of plum blossoms to the elegance of lotuses, each type of flower conveys unique cultural connotations and emotional resonance.

Sustainable Future

As an artist dedicated to botanical creations, Zizi has always emphasized the importance of sustainability in modern life. She favors using resources that can coexist harmoniously with nature, ensuring each work embodies beauty while adhering to ecological principles. Zizi believes that amid current global environmental challenges, art should not only pursue beauty but also serve as a catalyst for reflection and action. She is firmly convinced that artworks should not only manifest aesthetics but also reflect a sense of environmental responsibility. Her creations profoundly convey awe and love for nature, aiming to raise public awareness of eco-friendly materials and thereby strengthen people’s sense of responsibility in environmental protection.

In her creations, she often contemplates how we can coexist harmoniously with nature. She endeavors to express the complexity and importance of this relationship through art to evoke resonance among visitors. Each time when visitors stop at her exhibition, Zizi hopes they can beyond appreciating the art, deeply feel the nature’s call within the passage of time and the meaning of life. People should reflect on their own roles and responsibilities in environmental protection.

“The whisperings of all things, scenes of the four seasons, I tell them to you…”, this simply yet poetically expressed phrase not only captures the core idea in her creations, but also serves as an emotional bridge between her and visitors. Zizi hopes to convey nature’s voice to each visitor, encouraging them to listen to their inner feelings and attend to life’s small yet beautiful moments.

** Photos are provided by Zizi Wang