Tianzhuo Chen

Echo Correspondence presents artist Tianzhuo Chens solo presentation ≈ 70 %, unfolding as a site-specific installation, proposing ideas of cross-species and cross-life entanglement.

Having participated in Echo Correspondence's studio program 2023, Chen intervenes with the space making use of the high-backed wooden pavilion giving it a feeling of watery infinity. The notoriously dome-shaped sphere inside Echo, formed by a canopy of tall green tree crowns gives leeway to a glimpse into the biting blue lungs of the world - the ocean. In tandem with an unobstructed view of the sky.

Water covers about 70 percent of the earth's surface and puts the ocean’s share of the biosphere at more than 99 percent. ≈70% is Chen’s attempt to narrate a tale of the few remaining instances where codependency in human-nature relationships leads to subsistence and takes a closer look at cross-species entanglement.

Ocean Cage, Chen’s current work-in-Progress marks a small seemingly inconsequential spot on the globe, Lamalera, in which the artist’s modus operandi opened up a complex narrative. Chen shines light onto the people of a remote volcanic island in Indonesia, one of the last fisher communities permitted to the act of whaling. Tales about spirits and songs about ancestors accompany the people of Lamalera out into the depths of the ocean in the search for sperm whales. The film becomes a monocle visualizing a circle of life in which the past transcends.

The film delves into the intricate tapestry of rituals, performances, and enigmatic forms of spirits, while unraveling the multifaceted relationship between indigenous cultures, ecology, and humanity.

Through immersive displays and thought-provoking sketches, visitors will embark on a journey that transcends time and space, exploring the ethical dilemmas faced by the Lamalera community, the clashes between tradition and modernity, and the ever-evolving dance of harmony between humans and nature.