About the project

Shipping container is a structure symbolic of global exchange journeys taken across oceans with products of today. By re-working the structure, the artist has brought attention to relationships between groups of people internationally.

The shipping container has been transformed into a ‘signature round cut’ diamond which symbolizes desire, perfection and luxury. Reminiscent of diamond facets, the sculpture emanates light from within in a constantly changing light of rainbow colors.

Yin Xiu Zhen is interested in the concept of black holes. According to the general theory of relativity, black hole is a region of space from which nothing, including light, can escape. Black Hole can be simultaneously seen as a symbol of the world’s all-consuming desire for resources and progress, while being a reminder of the long-term cost to the environment that accompanies the fulfillment of this desire.

About the artist

A leading female figure in Chinese contemporary art, Yin Xiu Zhen (b. 1963, Beijing, China) began her career in the early 1990s following her graduation from Capital Normal University in Beijing, where she received a B.A. in oil painting from the Fine Arts Department in 1989. Most well known for her works that incorporate second-hand objects, Yin uses her artwork to explore modern issues of globalization and homogenization.

Yin Xiu Zhen has participated in various significant exhibitions around the world including the 7th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai, China (2008), the 52th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2007), the 14th Sydney Biennale, Sydney, Australia (2004), the 26th Sao Paolo Biennale, Sao Paolo, Brazil (2004) etc. The artist has received a range of prestigious awards including the China Contemporary Art Award (CCAA) and the UNESCO/ASCHBERG award in 2000.