Participatory & Community Art

IMAGO DEI – Bearing His Image

IMAGO DEI – Bearing His Image is an ongoing participatory art project initiated by artists Xieda Wang and Chuyun Liu, rooted in the biblical revelation that every human being is created in the image of God. We believe that human beings possess dignity because they bear God’s image, and that the capacities to perceive, imagine, create, and respond belong to our created humanity. Yet we do not encounter ourselves or the world from a neutral position. Culture, family, personal experience, social expectations, and habitual ways of thinking all shape how we see, judge, and understand ourselves—often without our realizing it.

Postscript of The Ark Programme

Liu Chuyun reflects on her and Wang Xieda's personal and artistic journey spanning over two decades. Moving from early reflections on the artist's role as "prophet and priest" and works like What Confucius Did Not Talk About, the couple spent years seeking answers to ultimate questions of eternity. Their encounter with Dr. Changping Zha in 2013 led them to embrace the Christian faith, fundamentally shifting their artistic perspective from escaping reality to facing human nature with humility and grace. Formulated in 2018, "The Ark Project" serves as a collaborative effort to address existential anxiety and direct viewers toward eternal hope, concluding with gratitude toward their supporters, collaborators, and family.

Water Calling Forth

Ping Mo investigates the cultural and spiritual meanings embedded in water. While Chinese classics like the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi view water as the ultimate symbol of the Dao—characterizing it through flexibility, humility, and all-encompassing wisdom—Near Eastern and biblical traditions initially frame water as chaos and emptiness subdued by the Creator. In the story of Noah's Ark, water transitions from a agent of judgment against human corruption to a vehicle for renewal and salvation. The interplay between these two cultural lenses creates a rich conceptual tension that invites deeper contemplation on existence and the sacred.

Water that Flows through Each of Us

Dr. Shao Kai Tseng examines water's rich symbolic presence across human history, philosophy, and art. Water acts both as the cradle of civilization and a destructive force of nature. Tracing water's artistic and theological representation—from Rembrandt's Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee to Near Eastern mythology and biblical events like the parting of the Red Sea—the essay highlights water as an instrument of divine authority, justice, and salvation. Rather than imposing a single perspective, the exhibition presents water as a shared human experience, guiding viewers toward personal reflection, inner peace, and spiritual truth.

The Redemptive Aesthetics of Water

Dr. Changping Zha explores the dual nature of water as both a force of righteous judgment and loving redemption. In "The Ark Project," artists Wang Xieda and Liu Chuyun invited public participation through water sample collection, story sharing, interactive ink wash painting, and site-specific engraved rubbings to craft a participatory artwork. The text compares this work with other contemporary water-themed art, contrasting the transcendent, covenantal salvation of the Judeo-Christian flood narrative with the pre-Qin Daoist tradition (such as Zhuangzi's concept of "still water" and wuwei), which dissolves distinctions between beauty and ugliness into a unified aesthetic.

Foreword: The Ark Programme

The Ark Programme

From the Ark of Noah and his family of eight in times of old, to the present lifework of Elon Musk's SpaceX: the ark as imagery quickly brings to mind an arc of redemption and rescue. Yet one must be reminded that it is not without state-of-the-art technology and scientific knowledge, coupled with the sensibilities of a prophetic order, that provides the vision otherwise none ordinary would perceive.

The Redemptive Aesthetics of Water

What do the torrents of a flood mean for the objects they submerge?