否极泰来 (It’s True)

Medium: Neon sculpture & projected video installation

Dimensions: Multi-component, site-specific (approx. 10' x 8')

Year Completed: 2025

否极泰来 (It’s True) is an installation merging handmade neon sculpture with projected looping video to explore cross-cultural connection, symbolic perception, and computational complexity. The Hanzi characters in the title derive from the Chinese proverb 否极泰来 — “when the extreme is reached, the opposite appears.” One of my best friends, Amy, taught me this idiom when I was struggling with PTSD in college.

The multilingual installation, spanning Mandarin, English, and French was acquired by the Chen Zekun Long River International Art Museum (陈泽鲲长河国际艺术馆) in Jingzhou, China. The installation alludes to friendship, global harmony, and the “P vs. NP” unsolved problem in theoretical computer science.

Made with sustainable materials, including plywood boards salvaged from the side of the road and secondhand LED light strips, the prismatic installation invites viewers to consider how seemingly unrelated motifs are linked through individual and collective imaginations.