In 2020, Fanglu traveled to the village of Sanbao in Guizhou province where she learned the spinning, weaving, and dyeing traditions of the local Dong (Kam) people. Discovering the stories behind Dong’s traditional bright fabrics inspired new series of works entitled 'Light and Hammer.'
Whether a large wall installation or a smaller sculptural work, the pieces possess an arresting beauty. The iridescent sheen of Dong’s hand-crafted fabrics and organic meandering contours of the sculptures command a viewer to stop and look intently. What are these shimmering, wrinkled curves frozen in a dance-like motion? The effortless loops, arching upwards and folding on top of each other, embark our imagination on a trip. Are they rising or collapsing? Exhaling or inhaling? Shrinking or expanding? Our attention is then drawn to the surface. Is it leather that we see, warped metal, paper, or, indeed, fabric? Like with many of Lin’s works, a daring thought crosses your mind: “Can I touch it while no one is looking?”
The sculptures invite us to perceive their physicality and kinetic force behind them. They are anything but still. As we circle around them, we provide the movement which helps to reveal the restlessness of these works. Impossible to hold as a single image, they look different from every point of view.