Light-year Transmission
"Poetry is the secret story, the story behind the story, the reflection in the mirror of time. Through it, we communicate with our deepest selves and with others across the silent spaces of existence." Octavio Paz
Light-year Transmission is a site-specific interactive light installation located on an island in Qiandao Lake (千岛湖) in Chun'an, Zhejiang Province. The work is part of the Qiandao Lake 2024 Light and Shadow Biennale. It consists of 2,000 meters of highly reflective thread arranged across a 28-meter span between trees along the island’s visitor path. The reflective, photosensitive thread is woven into a pattern that encodes a message containing ancient Chinese poems, which evokes the experience of life as it was a thousand years ago in the Chun'an area.
The installation can be activated by directing a strong light toward it, revealing its distinctive pattern. Several timed light sources are positioned along the pathway indicating sporadically the locations of the installation sections, while visitors can also illuminate the work using the flashlights with their mobile phones.
This project is a collaboration between the artists Xinyi Li and Ziv Ze’ev Cohen.