The exhibition gathered three works: Phantom Baits and Firefly, a cluster of small sculptures of glass squid, mimetic lures and trap lights on rock-like carriers; Kiss Upon the Tentacle, two enlarged stainless-steel lures hung high in the space; and Aurora Leaping on Nerve Endings, a site-specific installation in which a vast fabric screen moves with the sea of Quanzhou harbour, accompanied by Nanyin music and the scent of ylang-ylang.
The venue’s account of the exhibition describes the lamp-lit squid fishery as an ancient yet highly technologized “ritual of light”, and the installation theatre as an attempt to understand phototaxis from a posthuman perspective: squid are drawn by light, and people, too, are drawn by the light of the technologies, images and consumer culture they have made.
Music was performed by Dian Shui Nan Yue, with Nanyin pipa, sanxian and voice by Zheng Mingming and dongxiao by Shen Yijie, on the traditional Nanyin tune Beigong Qiliao; music production by R2 (Cai Kaidong). Scent support came from Yunsheng Olfactory Technology, and glass from Bolike’er Studio and Glass Island.
