PROJECT INTRODUCTION
Mediating a Conversation
between Heaven, Earth, & Men
Questions to Heaven is an installation that takes its name from the poem of the same name, attributed to Qu Yuan who lived during the Warring States Period of ancient China.
The poem, consisting of 172 questions in total, revolves around mysteries and contradictory accounts in legends and mythologies and begins with questions concerning the parts and motions of the celestial Heaven, to questions about the wonders of earth and the life it supports and finally to the realm of mortal men, his destinies, and fate.
Separated into three tiers, Heaven, Earth, and Men from the highest to the lowest tier, 76 of the original questions were included together with four questions by the artist. These were carved on ancestor tablets by the artist’s father, the artist himself, and a machine, to mediate a conversation between the three generations and to highlight the lost of a traditional skill and the wisdom attached to it through the generations.