Year: 2006
Location: Beijing, China
Exhibition: Chinese Calligraphy Exhibition
Status: Complete
Type: Installation
Dimensions: 9x9x9 (feet)
Materials: Water, Chinese Ink
Designer: Ma Yansong

PROJECT SUMMARY
On the morning of the opening ceremony, we placed a 9x9x9 feet ink ice in front of the China Millennium Monument and allowed it to melt with sunshine and wind for three consecutive days. The ice which is made from smoke ink of varied density weighs 27 tons. The shape of the ink ice kept changing as it melted away and flowed in all direction on the square. The passers-by were drawn to the site and they talked with each other about the scene with interest. In three days the ice ink as a solid entity disappeared, only leaving a black mark on the ground. The abstract symbols vanished as well, and a space for imagination in the time and the ink mark are all that is left behind.