Enigma Garden

2023
320cm(H)x380cm(W)×350cm(L)
PVC fabric, tube

‘The Enigma’ is a vast pink floating sculpture which mimics the ‘ballonet model’ of making inner and outer bags filled with air (and in the case of airships with gas which can be inflated and deflated to control the lift). Through the semi-transparent outer layer, we are drawn around the flow of the complex intertwined pink inner tubes, reminscent of vessels, strange organs, a comforting womb. Pink is prevalent in Bao’s works for their associations with the feminine and the bodily. Starting the day as a collapsed fleshy mass, it rises into fullness as it fills with air and in doing so gives form to this invisible material. Rising to over four metres tall, it invites us to dream of lightness and floating, as its yellow tentactles dance lightly with the breeze. Bao brings together organic form and artificial material to encapsulate a compelling sense of uncertainty. We question the relationship between body and air, lightness and weight and enjoy the state of questioning.
《Enigma》是一件巨大的粉色漂浮雕塑，借鉴了“内外囊气囊”结构：内外袋充气（在飞艇中则为充放气体以控制升力）。半透明的外层之下，复杂缠绕的粉色内管在流动，仿佛血管、异样的器官或让人慰藉的子宫。粉色在包蓉的作品中反复出现，关联着女性和身体性。它每天从一团塌陷的“肉感”开始，随着空气注入而逐渐饱满，用体积让无形的空气获得了形状。雕塑高逾四米，鼓励我们去想象轻盈与漂浮，黄色的触须在微风中轻轻起舞。包蓉将有机形态与人工材料并置，凝练出一种引人入胜的不确定感。我们开始追问身体与空气、轻与重之间的关系，并在追问的状态本身中获得愉悦。