Island of Flutes 1996

Qin Yufen created "Island of Flutes" using bamboo, arranging the material in neat, parallel rows across a circular space. Bamboo is a common material but here it is transformed into something unexpected. The artist has taken lengths of this organic material and laid them out in a precise, geometric pattern. The flutes create a texture and a sense of rhythm on the floor, contrasting with the architecture of the room. You can imagine the labour involved in gathering, preparing, and arranging these myriad pieces; the manual work needed to realize the artist’s vision. The artist uses a material associated with traditional crafts, but her arrangement transforms it into something contemporary. It invites us to reconsider our relationship to materials, and how acts of making can challenge the divide between art and craft.