The Kiss

2025

Materials: wood, gourds, brass, flexible tubing, and bamboo bearing perforations made by carpenter bees

In the old neighborhoods of Shanghai, one can sometimes find bamboo fences whose side walls are punctured with remarkably regular round holes. These holes are made by carpenter bees (Xylocopa, commonly known as bamboo bees), which bore into the bamboo and transform it into their nurseries. Inside, they store pollen and nurture their offspring. When the new generation emerges, they fly out through these openings and begin a new journey. Living in the city, these organisms are highly adept at expanding their own spatial language within the boundaries and barriers delineated by humans.

I collected bamboo stalks that had already been used by carpenter bees and turned them into experimental musical instruments. The holes gnawed by the bees—both accidental and inevitable in their placement—now form a natural scale. In other words, these instruments were co-created by the bees and myself. When played, what resonates is the echo of the bamboo’s hollow body and the life cycle of the carpenter bees, responding to seasons, wind, life, and time. The act of blowing into the instrument mirrors the bees’ gestures of gnawing and gathering pollen, bringing to mind the image of a “kiss.”

Commissioned by the 15th Shanghai Biennale

吻

2025

材质：带有竹蜂蛀孔的竹子、木头、葫芦、黄铜、软管等

在上海老街区的竹篱笆上，有时会发现其中一些竹子侧壁有着很规则的圆孔。这是竹蜂（学名：木蜂）蛀出的孔，竹蜂将竹子改造成了它们的育婴房。它们在其中储存花粉、孕育后代。新一代羽化后从孔中飞走，开始新的历程。这些生活在城市的生物很擅长在人类划定的边界屏障中，拓展出了自己的空间语言。

我收集了竹蜂使用完毕的竹子，制作成实验乐器。竹子上这些由竹蜂啃咬出的，既偶然又必然的孔位，此刻构成了天然的音阶。也就是说，这些乐器是蜂类与我共同制作完成的。吹奏时，响起的是竹子空腔与竹蜂生命历程的回声，回应着季节、风、生命与时间。吹奏的动作，与竹蜂啃咬、采粉的姿态相互呼应，让我想到了“吻”。

由第十五届上海双年展“花儿听到蜜蜂了吗”委任创作