Assorted fabrics; willow; paper; rice paste; glazed ceramics

song dynasty ○○○○ is an imagined chimerical beast: a parasitic worm with heads of ancestral fish. It gestures to the ancient and the intimate, to the deep time of marine life and the shifting currents of migration. The costume is crafted from inherited fabrics and adorned with ceramic talismans made by the artist’s parents, embodying 五行 (wǔxíng), the five Daoist phases: wood, earth, water, metal, and fire.

Like the polychaete worms that inspired it, the work survives through adaptation; it exchanges the patriarchal ferocity of traditional dragon and lion dances for a quieter vitality. The parasitic worm becomes a host, sheltering family within its folds. An armour and a sanctuary, it honours those who wriggled their way into new worlds and made them home.

song dynasty ○○○○ continues a family collaboration, ongoing since 2017, in which the artist reimagines portraiture and archive as a living, breathing act.