The Distance Between the Nest and the Grave Is a Single Tree
鸟巢和鸟冢的距离是一棵树
Commissioned by the 15th Shanghai Biennale
由第十五届上海双年展委任创作
I
Materials: stone slabs, grass, branches, text, etc.
On October 6, 2025, I saw a dead sparrow by the roadside.
Sparrows typically move along the ground through short, abrupt hops—pausing, turning back, observing, remaining alert, then lightly taking the next step. Based on the sparrow’s hopping pattern, I designed a “sparrow version” of hopscotch in a courtyard. As viewers play the game, they unconsciously imitate the sparrow’s rhythm and posture, allowing them to briefly approach the life dynamics of the commemorated sparrow. I also fabricated a micro-biography of the sparrow’s final fifteen days of life. These were written on nearby leaves and scattered in different corners. When viewers approach the courtyard, they may find that they have already pieced together the sparrow’s fifteen days in their hands.
一
材料：石板、草地、树枝、文字等
人能听见一只鸟坠落的声音吗？10月6日，我在路边看到一只死去的麻雀。
麻雀在地面常以短促的跳跃前进，停顿、回望、观察、警觉，又轻巧地迈出下一步。我根据麻雀的跳跃规律，在院子里设计了一个“麻雀版”的跳房子游戏。观众在玩耍时，不知不觉地模仿了麻雀的节奏与姿态，使他们短暂地接近了被纪念的麻雀的生命动态。我还为这只麻雀虚构了它生命中最后十五天的微传记，它们被写在附近的树叶上，散落在不同角落。当观众走近院子时，也许手中已拼凑出这只麻雀的十五天。
II
Materials: branches from abandoned bird nests, bird bones, glass spheres, feathers, stainless steel, etc.
I discovered a tangled cluster of bird bones in a heron habitat. Among the bones lay a glass sphere. I infer that the bird mistakenly swallowed it and ultimately died beneath the tree. In other words, this glass sphere had once been carried in flight by the bird, and had once been heated to over forty degrees Celsius—the temperature inside the bird’s body. This is a sorrowful parable: an artificial object intruding into the world of birds, disguising itself in the form of fruit. What the bird swallowed was not only an erroneous material, but also an illusion manufactured by humans. Amid the pile of bones, the smooth surface of the glass sphere still reflects the shadows of trees and the sky, yet it is a kind of nature that has failed.
Now, the glass sphere is placed in the exhibition space, as if the bird’s ghost accompanies it. I also collected branches from abandoned bird nests—each branch had once been carefully selected by a bird and carried from afar. I assembled these branches into a long arrow shaft, used found feathers to make the fletching, and fragments of bone to form the arrowhead. This arrow represents the life of a bird: nest-building and reproduction, migration, and descent.
二
废弃鸟巢的枝条、鸟骨、玻璃球、羽毛、不锈钢等
我在一片鹭鸟的栖息地发现了一丛凌乱的鸟骨，骨丛之中有一枚琉璃球。我推测那只鸟误吞了它，最终死在树下。也就是说，这枚琉璃球曾被鸟携带着飞行，也曾升温至四十余度——那是鸟体内的温度。这是一出悲伤的寓言：人工物闯入鸟的世界，伪装成果实的形态。鸟吞下的不仅是错误的物质，更是人类制造的幻觉。骨堆中，琉璃球光滑的表面仍反射着树影与天空，但那是一种失效的自然。
如今，这枚琉璃球被安置在展厅中，如同鸟的幽魂在伴随它。我还收集了荒废鸟巢中的树枝，每一根树枝都曾被鸟精挑细选从远处衔来。我用这些树枝组成一根很长的箭身，用捡来的羽毛做成了箭羽，碎骨做成了箭头。这根箭代表了一只鸟的一生:筑巢繁衍、飞迁、坠落。
