Golden Door

Wang Yanxin, Golden Door,

Performance Video, Narrative Edits, 

Color, Sound,13′ 47″, 2021.

Text: Sofie Su

Golden Door was created during Wang Yanxin’s artist residency project in Lashi Lake, Yunnan in 2021. In the sparse light of the night stars, amidst the chirping of insects and the barking of dogs in the countryside, he walks with an old courtyard door on his back.

As the dawn approaches, he slowly makes his way to the lakeside and coats the gate with golden lacquer, symbolizing the transition from darkness to light.

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” (Oscar Wilde)

By integrating his body into the space formed by cultural, geographical, and temporal factors, the artist employs the chosen landscapes, weather, and lighting as his props to express the hidden connections between places and people in the environment.

He confronts the environment with his body, engaging in ascetic-like actions which further into the wetlands, embracing the first light of dawn with vigor.