Land Art Intervention: A Meditative Journey Through Huangdaopo Memorial Park

Today, I ventured to Huangdaopo Memorial Park in Shanghai during the Mid-Autumn Festival, using nature as both my inspiration and my medium. My walk through the park became a meditative process, guided by the recent aftermath of a powerful typhoon that hit Shanghai, which scattered plants and branches across the park. This natural disruption shaped my interaction with the site and provided a unique collection of materials for my installation.

Choosing the Site: Huangdaopo Memorial Park

Huangdaopo Memorial Park, named after the historical figure known for revolutionizing textile techniques, felt like the perfect place for my Land Art intervention. Its connection to textiles and nature inspired me to think about the relationship between craft, materials, and the environment. The presence of cotton plants in the park tied the site further to themes of weaving and transformation, concepts that informed my installation.

Guided Meditation as Creative Process

I began my walk while listening to a guided meditation. Every time the instructor paused between the sounds of the singing bowls, I took it as a cue to collect fallen materials from the ground. Rather than disrupting living plants, I focused on the branches and leaves that the typhoon had knocked down. This act of collecting fallen elements felt symbolic—giving the plants a new chance to become part of something creative and meaningful.

The Installation: A Face from Fallen Nature

Using the leaves, branches, and a cotton flower that I gathered, I created an abstract face on the concrete ground of the park (pictured above). The face, constructed from these natural elements, symbolizes a connection between humanity and the environment. The varying textures of the green and brown leaves, combined with the softness of the cotton flower, evoke the fragility of both nature and human life.

The face itself is meant to be simple yet evocative, a quiet tribute to the natural world and the cycles of life that continue even after a storm. By arranging the materials into a human form, I wanted to reflect on the relationship between nature and human identity, and how closely intertwined the two are.

Rebirth Through Land Art

The typhoon left behind a trail of fallen plants, and I saw this as an opportunity to give these natural elements a new life through art. Instead of simply decaying on the ground, these branches and leaves became part of a new story—a dialogue between the natural and human worlds. The cotton flower, which I incorporated into the installation, became a central piece, tying the project back to the historical significance of textiles at Huangdaopo Memorial Park.

Documentation and Reflection

During the walk, I took photographs of the park and the process of creating the face. These visual records capture the peacefulness of the environment and the meditative quality of the entire experience. The final installation, though temporary, serves as a reminder of the resilience of nature and its ability to inspire creativity even in the face of destruction.

Final Thoughts

This Land Art assignment allowed me to slow down and observe the world around me in a mindful and respectful way. By working with only fallen materials, I was able to reflect on the cycles of nature—death, decay, and rebirth—and incorporate those themes into my work. The face made from leaves and cotton is both a personal expression and a tribute to the natural world that sustains us.