Zi Yuan, A Spring Stroll 字 園 遊 步

A series of paper sculptures scattering in the garden, responding to the regional climate issues & recalling our awareness of seasonal relationships with nature




Year  |  2021
Type  |  paper sculpture, narrative poems, video
Material  |  paper, metal, moving elements in the wind
Location  |  Merwe-Vierhavens (M4H), Rotterdam
Collaboraiton  |  performer Nicolle van de Berg & cinematographer Nino Kennis

Screening  |  
Motel Mozaïque Festival 2021
TENT Online Cinema 2022


It is a site-specific project developed at Voedseltuin Rotterdam, presented by MOMO Create & Perform. The research is granted by NCAF National Culture and Arts Foundation 國藝會.
How do we form and perform in the air?
How do we read and breathe together in the spring?

A language could serve as a space for reading and wandering. Resonating with the concepts in Voedseltuin Rotterdam, Zì Yuán (字園, meaning ‘Hanzi Garden’) invites the audience to immerse themselves in the narrative and the performance among the Hanzi sculptures subtly introduced into the harbor garden.




_Currently, video could be requested through a private link. Please contact me via email if interested.





落雨點滴化作詩 在風散盡前萌發
型態特別清晰 像肢體 更像造字的一筆一畫

It swings in the wind, especially perform like a figure, a body, in forms of creation of Chinese characters

Breathe in, breathe out
The rain comes with its endless drops
It waters the groves, refreshes our minds
It loops in the gardens and softens our city 
Absorbed, retained, and given back to the needs of our plants and the planet

All breathe together, in and out


— Rain 雨,一象天,冂象雲,水霝其間也。
—Rain Yu, 一 refers to the sky, 冂 refers to heavy clouds, and the rain drops in between. 

(extracted from chapter 2: Living with the Cloud, Rain & Air 雲雨气)

With the study of Hanzi that indicates how the ancients observed nature in order to understand the universe—the time, the season, the weather, and the operation of the world—the project consists of texts, sculptures, and body movements that lead us to read nature. Through her translating/transforming practice, Szu-Yi investigates how the storytelling qualities of the language inspire our imagination and the public awareness of the environment.












video stills, or see the trailer



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© SZU-YI WANG. 2022