Folding paper lotus symbolises that we are helping the dead eliminating his/her obstacle so that the dead can go to the better afterlife without any obsession/solicitude with this world or other distractions. As to the living people undergoing this folding paper lotus process, we are doing redeem and remedy anything that we couldn’t have fulfilled when the dead was alive. Folding paper lotus is to help the dead while at the same time, help the relatives’ soul and emotion as well.
My work, The Farmland of Heart (心田), comprises 49 paper lotuses (7 for lengthwise and 7 for crosswise) made from recycled papers (they are mainly the product catalogues for advertisement and special sale purposes, which also can be as annoying as junk mails). After being transformed through lotus folding process and rearranged, it thus forms a grid-like space that conveys a sense of calm, quietude and stillness. While being put under the context of the theme of the exhibition, The Space That Measures Distance, The Farmland of Heart (心田) invites viewers to explore the distance between current social/living conditions and their inner space.
