Terra Incognita

This project is inspired by a quote from Aristotle: “The more you know, the more you realize you don't know.” While it doesn't draw directly from any specific philosophical theory, it engages with the concept of relative truth rather than absolute certainties. In today's world, flooded with an overwhelming amount of information, it's often challenging to ascertain the veracity of the knowledge we encounter. People's judgments about the truthfulness of new information vary based on their diverse educational backgrounds and values, necessitating a broader perspective in discerning truth.

To embody this concept in a tangible form, I've chosen two elements: books and light. Books symbolize the reservoirs of knowledge, while intense light represents the obstacles faced in acquiring this knowledge. This interplay reflects Plato’s idea that light is a medium through which sensory perceptions are transmitted, shaping our understanding and standards.

The installation creates a visual metaphor where despite attempting to read the text in a book, one can only see its silhouette due to the overpowering brightness, making it impossible to discern the actual content. I selected an ancient poem, known for its prominence in China’s national college entrance exam and deeply meaningful to me, yet challenging to interpret fully without a background in classical Chinese. Additionally, I have deliberately engraved the text on one side of the surface incompletely, rendering it unreadable even to native speakers, hinting at the historical act of book burning. This allusion to the past—specifically to the First Emperor of Qin, who suppressed intellectual expansion to maintain control—underscores the enduring struggle over the control and interpretation of knowledge.