Lily

Lily
This summer, I was invited to participate in the Shanghai Urban Space Art Season exhibition. For this work, I chose to assemble multiple shipping containers into a seamless structure, covering them with a 40-meter-long LED screen. Once symbols of industrial transportation, these steel monoliths were redefined as an artistic canvas, standing prominently by the riverside. I wanted to use these icons of global logistics and production to create a space where technology, nature, and urban landscapes converge, transforming them into a new visual language. The stark contrast between the cold rigidity of the containers and the ethereal softness of the lily became the heart of the piece.

The exhibition focused on water resource circulation and ecological balance—an ongoing tension between human progress and nature. As we strive for economic development, we also long for environmental harmony, yet these two forces often seem at odds. This paradox became the foundation of my creation.

Inspired by my mother’s name, which contains the character "合" (meaning “harmony” or “union”), I envisioned the lily as the perfect metaphor. A symbol of purity, hope, and renewal, the lily blooms defiantly atop an industrial framework, juxtaposing the organic and the artificial.

Water, the cityscape, the lily, and the shipping containers interweave into a layered narrative. The flowing water and the urban skyline represent "harmony"—the delicate equilibrium between nature and human civilization. Meanwhile, the lily’s presence upon these massive steel structures signifies "union"—the fusion of the mechanical and the organic. Though fragile against the industrial mass, the lily radiates quiet resilience.

As night fell, the digital lily unfurled on the LED screen, its luminescence shimmering over the river, merging with the distant glow of the moon. Pedestrians paused along the waterfront, drawn into the interplay of shifting light and shadow, stepping into a fleeting space beyond reality.

For a moment, perhaps, it reflected humanity’s quiet yearning for harmony and unity.