FAYE CHENG
“We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.” — Andy Goldsworthy
My work has always carried my understanding of the universe, built upon the relationship between this universe and me. I try to find a connection that transcends time.
Up to 92% of the composition of all living beings on Earth is stardust — we are made of the remnants of stellar explosions. Humans themselves are part of this nature that is billions of years old. In the past, humans tried as much as possible to free themselves from dependence on nature. In modern society, individuality and individualism are emphasized, and people ignore their connection with the world around them. In fact, we establish connections with the elements of the Earth (standing, breathing, absorbing) and rely on them to survive.
I often observe and have close contact with natural spaces. In my view, the planet we live on is part of the universe; we humans are not separate from the cosmos — we are also one sample of cosmic life. That is why I find answers in natural fields, even when sometimes I don't go there with a question.
EDUCATION
University of Arts London Chelsea
MA FINE ART
Silence&Acuity 2019
Time:10’15’’
Performance
Material:charcoal,needle,tracing paper
Fluxion Boundary2021
Time:1’00’’
Static photography
Based on photography,I want to use static photgraphy to record the flow of boundary between human and nature in dynamic space. Subtle movement changes are used to present the intangible and ethereal boundary,as well as the interaction between time and space.
∞ 2022，
Time:7’20’’
Performance,installation
Material:carbon,soil,stone
This work represent the changing boundary between man and nature and the concept of symbiosis and energy cycle between human, nature in cosmos.
The Returning Individuals 2023
Time:5’24’’
Material:rocks,ceramic,rope
The Returning Individuals is a video work that contemplates the cycles of matter, the gravity of time, and the very origin of life.
In the video, several massive rocks—cloaked in coarse hemp rope and earthen shells—are suspended beneath lush, thriving branches, resembling heterogeneous fruits born amidst the canopy. As time passes in silence, these heavy "individuals" undergo a transformation driven by gravity and natural weathering. They eventually shed their outer shells, falling and returning to the grass below.
Through a highly poetic visual language, the artist captures the liminal state between "suspension" and "landing." These enveloped stones serve both as the embodiment of natural matter and as metaphors for human consciousness or individual destiny. After enduring prolonged periods of constraint, tension, and waiting, they ultimately shatter their external shackles to complete a return toward the matrix and the earth. Caught within the tension between motion and stillness, fall and rebirth, the work guides the audience to quietly listen to nature's prophecy regarding existence and cyclicity.
Rebirth 2023
Time:6’49’’
Performance video
Material:Incense sticks from London Fo Guang Shan Temple
Sacrifice is a concept of faith that originates from the harmonious coexistence of heaven and earth. In the telephone booth, which is forced to lose its main function, a closed and independent absolute space is established, using the function of communication that comes with the ritual to establish another deep link with the communication property that comes with the telephone booth, and using the closed three-dimensional solid material of the telephone booth to start the exploration of the escaped and nomadic soul to return to the inner to obtain the real freedom and peace
Momentary Distance 2023 11
Time:8’40’’
Performance
Material:Palo Santo,Paper
This work is about the discussion of human beings through a specific movement, visualizing the integration of each conscious being with nature in the present moment ,and to experience the psychological distance between human civilization and the natural field in human cognition, and try to materialize and concretize this psychological quest for the distance.