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problem
of nature's use-by
date, The inter-connected paths of the Dodo in Dodon't, the Sisyphean
efforts of the dung beetle in Critter-Coaster
and the batrachian course charted in Frogstyte measure out in particular
a cycle of becoming that may all too readily end up as an ecological
full-stop.
Ex/Inspire continues Guan's
obsession with the environment and an issue central to Chinese artistic
and sensibilities, that of 'return'. The multiple canvases of each work,
as well as the 'instillations' of Water and Aether engage with the
themes not only of eco-fashion but also with those imbedded in Guan
Wei's own bloodlines, and the charms of revenant Manchus |
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. Zong Baihua, a noted authority on traditional
aesthetics, observed that the Chinese concept of the universe is
expressed in the word yuzhou. It is a term that combines ideas of both
space and movement in space, in other words time. For the element yu in
yuzhou signifies a dwelling, while Zhou represents movement in and out
of a dwelling. The concept of the universe as denoted by yuzhou, or
'space-time', has, therefore been associated with personal space or
movement within a confined area from the earliest times. As Joseph
Needham, an expert on the history of Chinese science observes in his
essay 'Time and Eastern Man':
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