Time-wrinkled Welwitschia originated as an extension of my previous series of paintings exploring the Welwitschia plant. Welwitschia mirabilis is a highly unique desert plant found primarily in the arid regions of Namibia and Angola in Africa. As one of the oldest living plants on Earth, some individuals survive for two thousand years or more. The Welwitschia stands as an exceptional example of plant adaptation to extreme environments—it produces only two leaves in its entire lifetime, which continuously grow, wither, and regenerate under harsh conditions.
Time-wrinkled Welwitschia uses the Welwitschia's resilience as a metaphor for the endurance and transformation of cultural memory—much like the collective memories of human civilization that are repeatedly written, worn down, and reconstructed. These memories erode over time, yet persist with tenacious vitality, testifying to the resilience and diversity of life. The work simulates the prostrate growth habit of Welwitschia leaves, meandering across the gallery floor like a root system of civilization extending from the depths of history. As viewers walk through the exhibition hall, they experience the visceral sense of memory spreading, entwining, and decaying like vegetation, creating a physical dialogue between the body and the artwork.
Time-wrinkled Welwitschia is not a simple replica of a natural plant, but rather an exploration, through installation of themes such as identity, memory, and the resilience of civilization: when the texts that carry collective identity are printed, folded, burned, and dissolved, can human civilization still maintain its power to grow under extreme conditions, just like the Welwitschia? Through materialized language, the work transforms abstract cultural memory into tangible, perceptible visual forms, inviting viewers to reconsider the relationships between the individual and the collective, memory and time, through contemplation and walking, creating a dialogue between the body and the artwork.
