Beijing Subway Line 10
Dimensions: 120*35*100cm
Media: Air-dry clay, aluminum wire, eggshell, paper, etc.
Time: 2021
The Beijing subway system is one of the 10 most extensive metro systems in the world—it has 23 lines, more than 300 stations, and over 700 kilometers in length. It is also the major transportation I used in the city.
In this work, I want to show my experience in using this transportation by recreating the map of the Beijing subway. Due to the limited amount of time given, I only picked the line I travel most frequently with (line 10) in this project.
I drew the Beijing subway map with a pencil and stuck the paper on the wall so that it looks like a design drawing. Then, I bent aluminum wire into the shape of line 10 on the map. Because line 10 is usually presented with blue color, I used blue-colored air-dry clay to cover the wires. The clay also allowed me to take more control of the shape and texture, so the work is more related to my own experience rather than the constant, cold map itself.
I then used an object to represent each station. Inspired by artist Paloma Jimenez, I try to explore a wide range of media to use in my work. Some of the objects are directly collected from daily use—such as sponges, pencils, and even eggshells—while others are created by combining different materials. These objects I chose/created are in some way related to my experience with the station. Some are based on the stories that happened, some are just showing an impression of the scene around the area, etc. It’s okay the viewers may not understand how exactly the objects are related to the stations. In fact, I want my work to inspire the viewers to imagine so they can create more stories based on these objects.
