Xu Zhong-Min, Cloud No. 2, 2008. Mechanical installation, 250 cm x 250 cm x 160 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

The series of my mechanic installation works Cloud carries a strong expressive force that transcends over time and space. With semitransparent resin-made cloud and sculptures of the human figure that climb through the clouds, I try to present the ancient existence, development, and significance of human beings. As a whole, the series should be understood as a process of ceaseless circles and repetitions.

This mechanic installation is intended to deliver and communicate the mysterious, abstract yet “force majeure” nature of life, by using a combination of sculptures, light, shadow, and sound that creates an extraordinaire visual impact.

The global cultural perversion in post-modern era has greatly influenced contemporary artists, in a way that we have been led to pay more attention to how life exists, endures, and ends. To a certain extent of one’s life, man shall begin to think about life, naturally. The series of works, which reflect my thinking here, began from The Bridge, an installation I made in 2004. Like The Tunnel, and Trekking Around the Mountain, I applied the same media, method, and format in The Bridge. These three works are all closely connected, and investigate the metempsychosis of human life concerning the past, present, and future. Based on my former experience, Trekking Around the Mountain is set in a science fiction context, with special effects of light and electricity, creating a modern and futuristic atmosphere. “Trekking around the mountain” as an action in Tibet is an act of salvation in “this world.” When creating art, I am “trekking around the mountain” in a sense. It is a spiritual cultivation process of self-salvation, bitter and sweet.