Liang Zongyao delves into the intricate connection between matter and time in his installation Theoretical Pain. Here, glass, water, and iron serve as metaphors for life's cycles—growth, decay, and transformation. Glass symbolizes existence's fragility, while iron's oxidation represents the inexorable passage of time. Water, embodying fluidity, reflects the essence of life and emotion. Drawing from Heidegger's philosophy, Liang crafts an aesthetic space where art, science, and philosophy converge, inviting contemplation on impermanence and the human experience of suffering.
Liang Zongyao (born in 1996) presents Theoretical Pain in 2024, as part of his graduation project from the Sculpture Department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in China. This installation, featuring a pathological laboratory and an operating room, is made entirely of glass, metal, and water vapor, and has sparked strong reactions and discussions in the Chinese art world.
SiO2 (Glass): Interacting with light, while expressing strength and resilience through blowing, molding, cutting, and polishing techniques, glass—both transparent and fragile—can be shaped and recycled into various forms, symbolizing the cyclical nature of time, inspired by Heidegger’s philosophy.
H2O (Water): Representing the essence of life, emotions, environmental awareness, and rich cultural symbolism, water stands out through its fluidity, transparency, and its visual and auditory qualities.
Fe (Iron): A hard and heavy material, iron oxidizes irreversibly over time. It embodies a sense of history and vitality, serving as a metaphor for aging, death, and materiality.
Centered on the interaction between these three materials and time, Liang's meticulously crafted artistic approach creates a powerful visual language, transcending disciplinary boundaries. It examines, with scientific precision and poetic depth, the relationship between living bodies, pain, impermanence, and their sublime existence.