“…water gives the work a quality of meditation. …Water can evoke emotions and trigger thinking. Jin Choi linked this experience with the urban temperament of Hangzhou. Hangzhou is a city that coexists with water. Its development, culture and narrative are closely related to water. When we think of Chinese classical gardens, we must think of ponds and Taihu Stone.

They cleverly integrated this cultural image into the context of contemporary art: "We have created a huge reflective pool. There are no swimming fish in the pool, but our 'Taihu Stone' - the twelve zodiac figures are floating." This analogy not only makes the work resonate deeply with the local culture, but also injects it with the reflection color of virtual reality, movement and presence in oriental philosophy.

From the original concept, to the joint weaving of one hundred and ten hands, and finally the presentation in the water world of Hangzhou, Choi+Shine's "Distance" completed a magnificent reconstruction from individuals to groups, from concepts to materials, and from distant to local. It is not only a visually stunning fiber art installation, but also a hymn about collaboration, communication and human emotions. It floats quietly there, and the sky and the audience are reflected on the water, as if silently saying that no matter what "distance" there is between us, art can always build a bridge for us to meet. Hangzhou, an ancient and vibrant city, once again became a witness to this beautiful encounter.

Reflections obscure or distort the boundaries, challenging the realm of reality; the mirrored images on surroundings alter one’s perception and reveal its hidden depths, allowing an alternate point of view of the identical object concurrently. One cannot be perceived alone or cannot exist without the other. Between the tangible and habitable real and its reflection resides a space. The audience occupy this space and connects the two.

The work is designed to interact with light. Similarly to chiaroscuro used in Renaissance and Baroque art, the contrast between the dark water and the reflection of white lace obscures the dimensions of reality. The exaggerated and augmented shadows on the white museum walls evoke the shadow painting from surrealists or shadow theaters from China. Drawing with light, the project expands beyond the physicality of the objects and elongates the time of now.

Lace: Timeless

Floating large scale lace objects evoke the sense of weightlessness as if time stopped. While connecting to skilled hands from the distant past, it captures the essence of now, levitating to the future.