Tianren Jingjie Public Artwork

This public artwork stands outside the Nangang Exhibition Hall. It suggests civilisation receiving the sweet spring of life, which nourishes the empty soul so that it steps out joyfully in a fine rhythm. Two huge hands, one pointing to the earth and one to the sky, meet at the fingertips, the boundary between heaven and humanity, and the coloured rings stand for the endless and infinite extension. The interface between heaven and humanity can be trillions of kilometres and ten thousand years away, beyond reach even with a lifetime's effort; or thought can pass freely from the heavens to the underworld, travelling across the ages to the great void in a snap of the fingers. Nine overlapping rings of coloured kiln-fired glass separate the natural world from the civilised world. This interface is at the same height as the works 'Between Thoughts' (思考之間) and 'Self and Things Without Limit' (物我無限), and its coloured circles keep time with the song of the four seasons and the dance of life, rounding off the whole concept. Some grasp it in a flash of enlightenment, others leave only an echo on a mournful wind; the answers are many, but only when civilisation fully understands and is in harmony with nature can it extend without end.

Translated by DealTaipei from Taiwan's national tourism database. Sources are on the terms page.