10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar
image courtesy of ye cheng

 

 

 

chinese architect ye cheng has composed a mountianscape out of 10,000 petri dishes in the courtyard of palacio quintanar, an ancient spanish nobleman’s mansion turned artspace in spain. the open-air space houses ‘kong shanshui/ empty shanshui’, the large-scale installation composed of mounds of glass hills interwoven with white stones. from morning to night, the visual characteristics of the immersive sculpture change; sunlight in the morning passes through the transparent materials, revealing a reflective glow around throughout the space, while neon light installed under each glass form creates a self-luminous glow at night. responding to the natural environment that surrounds it, the small translucent trays wrap around the existing trees. the artwork dissolves the original functions of the man-made petri dish as standardized industrial products by instilling an organic, free-form essence into its installation.

 

 

10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar
‘kong shanshui/ empty shanshui’ installed at palacio quintanar
image courtesy of palacio quintanar

 

 

10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar
10,000 petri dishes are arranged as a mountainscape
image courtesy of ye cheng

 

 

10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar
the immersive sculptural work wraps around the trees in the courtyard
image courtesy of palacio quintanar

 

 

10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar
a view from above the court
image courtesy of palacio quintanar

 

 

10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar
during the day, light transfers through the transparent glass dishes
image courtesy of palacio quintanar

 

 

10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar
glowing lights are installed under each mound of petri dishes
image courtesy of palacio quintanar