Lin Chang-Rong | Spatial Reality—Light, Time, and the Ephemeral Landscape

Biography

Lin Chang-Rong is a professor in the Department of Art and Design at National Taitung University, Taiwan, where he also served as department director for six years. A recognized expert in design aesthetics, Lin is a regular reviewer for prominent design and architecture journals both in Taiwan and internationally. His research has been published in renowned journals, including the JSSD International Journal (Japan Society for Science of Design) and the IADSR International Conference. Lin’s artistic practice spans a range of media, with a particular focus on site-specific installations that engage deeply with the natural environment.

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Lin Chang-Rong

Curatorial Text

Spatial Reality—Light, Time, and the Ephemeral Landscape

At the Arteles Creative Center in Haukijärvi, Finland, Lin Chang-Rong transforms the frozen expanse of Parilanjärvi into a luminous canvas with Spatial Reality. Against the muted palette of the Arctic, a solitary beam of white light cuts through the snow, tracing a radiant line that threads earth and sky in a minimalist gesture. The light alludes to the cosmic allure of the aurora borealis, mirroring the vastness above while asserting a disruptive presence on the ground— illuminating and altering its surroundings.

In his practice, Lin engages both physically and conceptually with the landscape. To create this site-specific work, he traversed the frozen lake, testing the ice for stability. Through this tactile interaction, he carved a precise, linear path into the snow with a shovel, transforming the natural terrain and meticulously positioning the light beam along its length. His work resonates with the ethos of land artists such as Walter De
Maria and Michael Heizer, whose monumental interventions are often designed to endure the passage of time. However, Spatial Reality embraces impermanence— where the actions and presence of the work remain fluid and elusive.

The work is contingent upon natural elements in constant flux. The environment becomes a collaborator, a shifting, dynamic body that continuously alters the piece’s dimensions and reality. Its mutable nature, in perpetual dialogue with external forces such as weather and time, imbues the work with a distinctive, ever-evolving presence.

Spatial Reality offers a poignant meditation on ecological precariousness in the face of the escalating climate crisis. The delicate surface supporting the light beam becomes a metaphor for the vulnerability of ecosystems. Relying on extreme temperatures and snowfall, fluctuating weather conditions dictate both the creation and eventual dissolution of the work— making it both a response to, and a product of the environment’s fragility. While the work is presented through photography and video documentation, these images compellingly capture its experiential dimension. The vast silence of the Arctic night, the biting cold, and the muffled crunch of footsteps on snow immerse viewers in a heightened state of awareness. This sensation evokes the sublime in the Romantic tradition, conjuring landscapes that provoke awe and introspection.

A meditation on impermanence—both human and environmental, Spatial Reality prompts profound reflections on the rhythms of the natural world and humanity’s fleeting existence. In this poetic space, Lin Chang-Rong invites viewers to contemplate the infinite and the transient, where the tangible and the imagined coexist in a liminal space between perception and reality. Each passing moment, both fragile and enduring.

His recent exhibitions include the Arte Laguna Prize 2024 at the Arsenale Nord in Venice, Italy, and Spatial Reality at Arteles Creative Center, Finland (2024). Other notable exhibitions include the Matsu Biennial 2023 in Taiwan, the International Pottery and Ceramics Competitions of La Rambla (ENBARRO 2023) in Spain, and the Asia Contemporary Ceramics Exchange Exhibition in South Korea (2022). Lin has also exhibited in prominent solo shows, such as Post Truth at the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (2018) and Behind the Truth at the National Taiwan Arts Education Center (2017) to name a few.

In addition to his exhibitions, Lin has received numerous prestigious awards, including: 2023 International Design Awards (IDA), Gold in Cultural Architecture Design – Temporary Installation, 2023 International Design Awards (IDA), Bronze in Educational Interior Design – University, 2023 London Design Awards, Gold in Architectural Design – Public Art & Public Art Installation, 2023 MUSE Design Awards, Silver in Public Art & Public Art Installation, 2023 NY Product Design Awards, Silver in Tableware – Ceramics, among others.