I performed this piece on the rooftop of - Master Lin Zhongfei’s studio for the 5th edition of ‘Gravitational Body’ performance art event.

It began with a simple, found object: a spade I discovered in the rooftop garden. I was deliberately seeking something linear in form. The spade, resting against a wooden box and almost matching my own height, became a silent partner.

Rather than imposing a pre-planned narrative, I let the physical properties of the spade dictate my movement and behaviour. Its weight, its balance, the way it leaned, these became the score. The spade used me as a somatic, improvisational dialogue.

The spade carries layered meanings for me. It is a tool of physical labour, tied to digging vegetables and turning dirt, evoking the sweat and rhythm of manual work. It is also a metaphor for artistic mental labour , an implement for excavating ideas, toiling the mind, and working through creative blocks. Stripped back to its essential form, weight, and presence, it transformed into an object for meditation.

photographers : Su Jingchao Ching Long