" Deep dive into Animism" is an installation artwork that delves into natural worship, cultural power, and the philosophy of animism. It explores the legacy of ancient belief systems through the symbolic lenses of stone, plants, animals, and seafaring, reflecting the interconnectedness of all things as living entities imbued with spirit. Using dynamic projections, sculptural installations, and layered soundscapes, the piece interrogates how ancient practices of magic and ritual, rooted in animism, have functioned as tools of power, and how these practices continue to resonate in the symbolic frameworks of modern technologies and global contexts.
At the heart of the work is the “Horns of the Beast” field. Sculptural forms inspired by the jade zhulong (pig-dragon) from the Hongshan culture, the ram-headed deity Amun from Ancient Egypt, and contemporary branding of horns are presented as monumental installations covered with dynamic projections. These projections compress time into overlapping layers: the zhulong symbolizes the belief in the spiritual essence of animals and their role as intermediaries between humans and the spirit world; the ram horns represent both religious and sovereign authority, reflecting the belief in the power of nature’s beings to govern human affairs; while modern branding appropriates these animalistic symbols into the language of consumerist power. When viewers touch the surface of the sculptures, they activate sonic invocations—reconstructed from ancient ritual texts—that evoke questions about power, fear, spiritual protection, and the animistic belief in the presence of spirit within all things.
Simultaneously, the “Seafaring and Colonization” field uses a virtual ship and projection-mapped maps to depict the dissemination of belief systems and the expansion of power during the Age of Exploration. The projection walls illustrate colonial routes and the cultural encounters between colonizers and indigenous communities, intertwining Polynesian navigation prayers with European missionary hymns. The glowing, spectral quality of the ship suggests a magical talisman, embodying the animistic belief that objects and journeys carry spirits, and that faith systems are not only sources of spiritual refuge but also covert tools of domination and conquest.
The work employs the metaphors of magic, ritual, and animism to critically interrogate the mechanisms of belief. By integrating symbols from Hongshan animal worship, colonial religious practices, and contemporary semiotics of power, Traces of Belief reconstructs faith at the intersection of historical and cultural narratives. Its inspirations are drawn from semiotic studies of the zhulong motif (Harrell, 1995), Gauguin’s critique of colonial ideologies and Tahitian cultural reflections (Staszak, 2003), Polynesian seafaring traditions (Morrison, 2015), and the philosophy of animism (Aupers, 2015). This piece invites the audience to reexamine how belief, through the lens of animism, is reconstituted through the language of magic and how it operates as a subtle apparatus of cultural control, underscoring the idea that all things—whether natural, spiritual, or technological—are imbued with a form of spirit.
Citations:
- Harrell, S. (1995). The Jade Tradition in Ancient China. Journal of East Asian Archaeology.
- Staszak, J.-F. (2003). Gauguin and the Colonial Imaginary. Art History Journal.
- Morrison, J. (2015). Polynesian Navigation: Past and Present. Journal of Pacific Archaeology.
- Aupers, S. (2015). Technomagic: The Animism of Technology in the Digital Age. Journal of Digital Culture.