Unbinding Matter: Early Atomic Decomposition Art Experiment in China
Video-Performance Installation
Project Description
Will returning to Atom be the key to our transcendence? This project is an interdisciplinary dialogue that delves into the significance of atoms within various contexts, expressed through exhibitions, installations, performances, and other artistic forms.
As a transnational, cross-disciplinary artist and educator, I am shaped by my cultural heritage, social roles, globalization, and even the trillions of microorganisms dwelling within me. I aspire to go beyond hurried, limited personal experiences to explore the essence of existence and construct intellectual freedom. Since 2009, I have been dedicated to investigating a consistent theme through animation, installation, performance art, illustration, and other media: I seek a fundamental existence that surpasses personal and national boundaries, transcending the limitations of individual life forms.
he material essence of my body is merely a temporary arrangement of about 10^27 ancient atoms on their long journey. Most atoms on our planet have been here since the Earth’s formation, and we only briefly make use of them. The definition of life appears related to a cluster of atoms capable of replicating its structure using new atoms, while the disintegration of the body represents the process of atoms returning to their original state.
Atoms are universal entities that transcend borders. Yet the distribution of global resources and opportunities is often uneven, resulting in disparities in wealth, education, healthcare, and basic necessities. Through the metaphor of the atom, I hope to inspire audiences to reconsider identity, power relations, and global injustice, potentially prompting them to reassess their own beliefs, values, and biases.
Within this framework, I reexamine the relationships among life, time, atoms, and space, transcending individual and tangible limitations, and present a new cosmological ideal through artistic experimentation. I will propose an artistic hypothesis and attempt an “atomic return” demonstration. Although current scientific conditions and technologies make it extremely difficult to decompose organisms into a state of pure atoms, I will use an artistic approach to conceptualize an accelerated decomposition process—employing the remains of deceased insects, plants, and other organic matter—thus artistically accelerating and observing the natural processes of decay and decomposition.
In August 2024, with support from the China National Nuclear Corporation at a facility in Kunshan, Jiangsu, I conducted an initial artistic experiment. Using a small-scale plasma torch furnace, I subjected selected objects to high-temperature decomposition to explore how matter might approach an atomic state under extreme conditions. This preliminary test provided practical validation for the “return to the atom” concept and yielded initial data and observations.