Trying my best to capture the present and leave traces behind.
Present & Trace
2026
Process Art
We were asked to hold an ice cube while thinking of something important to us, and to build a pavilion for it.
For me, the journey was always about capturing the beauty of the present. I started by drawing the outline of the ice cube, but it kept moving as I drew. So I became interested in its movement and began tracing where it went and the water it left behind.
Process Art
We were asked to hold an ice cube while thinking of something important to us, and to build a pavilion for it.
For me, the journey was always about capturing the beauty of the present. I started by drawing the outline of the ice cube, but it kept moving as I drew. So I became interested in its movement and began tracing where it went and the water it left behind.
Eventually, I really looked into the ice itself, the light inside and around it, and that touched me deeply.
It's an ice cube. It melts, evaporates, disperses into the air. We can't simply refreeze it into its old form.
At the beginning, I was so eager to cherish it that I couldn't yet get close to it. Only slowly did I come to know it. The moment that touched me most came when it had nearly melted away, and that moment, too, would pass. But in the end, the whole journey and the trace it left behind were so beautiful and worthwhile.
It's an ice cube. It melts, evaporates, disperses into the air. We can't simply refreeze it into its old form.
At the beginning, I was so eager to cherish it that I couldn't yet get close to it. Only slowly did I come to know it. The moment that touched me most came when it had nearly melted away, and that moment, too, would pass. But in the end, the whole journey and the trace it left behind were so beautiful and worthwhile.
credit:
Xueer Xu @alexstewart.000000012024