Column Matrix

Column Array is a group of works created for the 2021 Delong Steel Sculpture Art Park in Laoting, Tangshan. The park is flat and open, adjacent to the Bohai Sea, on former tidal-flat wetland whose saline soil discourages tall trees, though several water bodies support rich aquatic plants and birds as a wetland reserve. To the north, the steel production zone rises with spectacular industrial facilities; to the east and west, protective forests mark the horizon. To the south, new commercial towers rise like a giant screen, interrupting the once-open sea view and exerting visual pressure on the flat site. The intention was to create a landmark that could counter and mitigate this scale pressure, or at least create a visual progression that deepens the southward view. This logic determined that the work should extend vertically while forming a clustered mass, balancing height and volume. Nine square hollow columns were placed in the southern, slightly higher part of the park, each originally planned at 7.2 meters high, 2.2 meters wide, and 0.02 meters thick, spaced 1.5 meters apart; during construction the height was reduced to 6 meters to control cost, though the overall massing and spatial aura were preserved. Public art must have expression, speak, and convey information that resonates with daily experience. To give the cold steel warmth, transparency, and lightness, the team replaced the solid plate with the laser-cut texture of ivy vines, treating the steel by laser engraving and welding. The intention was not decorative but to imply a possible spatial entity, recalling how ivy clings to buildings; once the building is withdrawn, the vine growth still carries the memory of the former space. Each mesh column has different openings to create varied circulation and sight lines, and visitors entering are immersed in dappled light and shadow. From afar, the dense and ethereal columns stand out, presenting different faces from every angle. The saline soil's hostility to tall plants makes the surreal image of rampant vines particularly resonant on this wetland.