Heaven Earth Tea Hut

TianDiChaWu is a multimodal series of works forming a collective installation that stimulates the participant's five senses. The elements of painting, textile sculpture, stone sculpture, live music, responsive projection, physical performance & the action of making and drinking tea correspond to the ancient Chinese philosophies of Wu Xing, or the five elements -- earth, fire, water, metal and wood. The tea garden is a transient yet highly tranquil environment, steeped in tradition dating back to Sen no Rikyū (b.1522), the greatest historical influence on Japanese chanoyu or "way of tea". Rikyū brought tea culture down from its royal-class pedestal by developing the notion of a universal tea ceremony as practice of "refined poverty".  Using contemporary technologies & art practice, the TianDiChaWu is able to encapsulate any corner anywhere in the world & create an ephemeral space of retreat, stillness and awareness where one can do nothing & be nothing. This follows the Buddhist notions of impermanence (anicca) and non-selfhood (anatta), as well as the zazen practice of releasing one's grip on the world and "opening the hand of thought". The participant becomes the honorable guest of this ceremony;  all the artworks are there to create the atmosphere and serve the viewers' visual and inner peace. The intention is less for each piece to speak its own message but rather to induce the participant's inner-self to go to a deeper place on their own.