Replica of Ruins: Deserted City 

Stone plinths , white cement, glass, stainless steel, rusted iron

A set of 5

2024--2025

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再造頹垣：丘城

柱礎、白水泥、玻璃、不鏽鋼、鏽鐵

一組5件

2024--2025

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The stone plinths used in this series of works date back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In traditional Chinese architecture, stone plinths play a vital role in supporting the weight of the entire structure and protecting wooden columns from rotting in the humid southern climate.

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This series of artworks was first exhibited at Memory Smuggler: A First Quartet at To Art House, Hong Kong. In this exhibition, Chu adopts quasi-archaeological methods to explore the history of settlements and seven abandoned villages in the hills of Fo Tan. These villages, which housed over 200 villagers from the mid-Qing Dynasty (1800s) until the 1990s, now lie in ruins.

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Echoing the abandonment of these villages, modern materials such as white cement, precisely cut glass, and steel are used to reconstruct the void atop the historical plinths. These voids evoke the once-complete columns and expand the audience's imagination to the broader architecture, the villages, and the culture that once thrived.

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Image 1--5: Photos by Wong Pak Hang and commissioned by To Art House. Image 6: Photo by Chu Lok Ting, Natalie. Courtesy of Chu Lok Ting, Natalie.

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