· Gardening the Ruins

Gardening the Ruins

造园——在废墟之上

Gardening the Ruins is a mixed-media spatial installation created during a desolate period in the artist's life. In "Men in Dark Times", Hannah Arendt wrote: "In dark times, when there is no light to guide us, it is natural to seek refuge, as long as this retreat is not an escape from reality but a way to recognize it as the very thing to be fled." On the other hand, escape does not mean inaction. ZhenZhen Zhong emphasizes the act of "gardening" in her work, using homemade machinery, painting, found objects, video, and sound to create a landscape that includes land, ponds, shelters, oceans, and shrines. These "non-human performers," as she calls her mechanical devices, take over the "cultivation" of this landscape after the work is completed.

In "Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition", Robert Harrison highlights the destructive impact of modernism on spiritual life and the importance of Epicurean gardening activities in rebuilding inner order. A garden is a living organism; thus, nurturing and cultivation are key. In planning her "garden," ZhenZhen Zhong draws from "The Classic of Mountains and Seas," the historical transformations of the Pearl River Delta, and the principles of Feng Shui, adopting a bird's-eye view of her work. Just as Pan Gu's body turned into mountains and rivers after falling, Gardening the Ruins is both a miniature spiritual landscape and a body longing for rest and regeneration.

“如果哪天一觉醒来，发现自己身处于一片废墟当中，我会怎么办?”

《造园—在废墟之上》是一个综合媒介空间装置，它创作于艺术家的生活处于一片荒芜的时期。汉娜·阿伦特在《黑暗时代的人们》（Men in Dark Times）一书中写到：“在无可作为的黑暗时代，逃离人世总是正当合理的，只要逃离者并不忽略现实，而是时刻认清现实正是他必须逃离的对象。”另一方面，逃离并不意味着无所作为，正相反，钟慧侦的创作重点正是在“造园”（gardening）这一动词之中。她使用使用自制机械、绘画、现成品、影像和声音构建了一片包含土地、水塘、庇护所、海洋和神龛的景观，不仅如此，那些被她称为“非人类表演者”的机械装置也在作品完成后代替她在这片地理风貌上“耕种”。

在《花园—谈人之为人》一书中，罗伯特·哈里森指出了现代主义的破坏性对人精神生活的攻击，以及伊壁鸠鲁式的花园耕作活动对重建内心秩序的重要性。花园本身就是一个生命体，因此顺应和培育是关键性的。在对“花园”的规划中，艺术家参考了《山海经》，近代以来珠三角地区沧海桑田的变化历史，以及风水堪舆等因素，这使得她（以及观者）面对这件作品采取了一种俯瞰视角。正如盘古倒下之后肉身变成了山岳河流，《造园—在废墟之上》既是一处精神地貌的微缩沙盘，也可以是一具渴望休养生息的身体。

“在2023年，回顾过去的几年，我们不可思议地拥有许多共同经验，又无可避免地拥有极其不同的经验。难以言说的经历、体验和感受使得作者不得不去不断向自己发问，如果遭遇某种突如其来，个体应该如何回应?又能如何回应?

如果有替代性的方案，那么在替代性的方案浮出水面前，也许能通过创作来重建废墟，也许建一片花园也不错。"

“A garden opens up space for making and experiencing. It ritualizes our existence and gives it meaning. Attention and care weave living nature together with our human condition.”

— Erik A. de Jong Like a Mirror