“Water is the softest and most yielding substance. Yet nothing is better than water, for overcoming the hard and rigid, because nothing can compete with it.” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Water succeeds at being itself while being everything else. The undefinable feature of water may compromise all the characteristics–flexibility, adaptability, changeability, shapelessness……allows it to be all things, while upholds the core of co-existed softness and strength, being capable of overcoming the hardest yet gentle enough to nourish the smallest and the weakest……
Yet, my curiosity about the nature of water entails this series of Like Water, and as I dive into the project, having more and more interactions with water, we have gradually developed a mutually respectful relationship. That is, what is given is what is received. When I touch it with impatience and imprudence, it responds to me with disorganization in shape and the feeling of rage, but when I touch it gently with care, it answers me with a pacified manner, showing me the beauty of tranquility and balance.
This collection of photos is a response from water to my question of “What is your nature?” Even though water may show its adaptability and resilience on the surface–being everything and overpowering everything–it opens up some novel space inside of me in the softest yet most powerful manner, flowing into my art to explore the space of strength, nourishment, peace and balance.
“That which offers no resistance, overcomes the hardest substances. That which offers no resistance can enter where there is no space.” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
