《Bamboo lantern artist》

 

 

 

The GIIMMII team visited the ancient village of Chaoshan to meet Master Chen, a master craftsman who preserves the intangible cultural heritage of oil paper lanterns.

In the workshop filled with bamboo and unfinished lanterns, the craftsmen pull out bamboo like swords and draw strips like bows. The strips move along a predetermined path between their fingertips, and each intersection of vertical and horizontal lines forms a diamond-shaped eye.

 

 

 

 

“No nails or glue required · Made entirely from bamboo”

Master Chen rubs his palm over the joints, and the bamboo strips emit a fine, resilient ringing sound where they touch each other. When the tail end is hooked into the bone, the tension is locked into the diamond-shaped core, and the grid breathes like a living thing—confirming the Eastern wisdom that “softness can bear a thousand pounds, and emptiness can contain all things.”

 

 

 

 

”The Philosophy of Structure: The Aesthetics of Diamond-Shaped Beauty“

The craftsman uses his knee as an anvil, skillfully bending and folding the bamboo strips. Though seemingly fragile, the bamboo material instantly stiffens like a spine when interlaced diagonally, forming a stable honeycomb-like grid. When two strips intersect at a cross, they establish the four corners of the space, with ten thousand diamond-shaped holes simultaneously breathing in and out. When light passes through the diamond-shaped holes, it casts a star map on the ground, and human shadows are both divided and stitched together by the diamond-shaped grid. It feels as though one is traversing between the real and the illusory, embodying the Eastern philosophy of “interstices” and “gaps.”

 

 

 

 

“Rhombic spatial context”

Each bamboo strip is like a word that carries history, culture, and natural attributes. Aesthetic expression and cultural symbolism together form a profound language system. Rooted in tradition, it can keenly perceive and blend into the modern context. This is not just a description of a handicraft, but also a presentation of the vivid stories behind Eastern culture.

 

 

 

 

Rebirth through separation: “Bamboo breaks, but the strips remain connected; the lamp goes out, but the pattern remains.” The ultimate power of the diamond symbol, the sense of breathing that comes from “responding to change with flexibility.” When craftsmen deconstruct the diamond grid into a building facade design, the intersections of the strips continue in the concrete.

 

 

 

 

A square piece of bamboo splint contains the universe. When two splints form a cross, they establish the four corners of space. The diamond-shaped array in the palm of the hand encapsulates the ultimate realm of “structure.” Using the splint as a pen, one writes the poetry of Eastern habitation.

 

 

 

 

Watching the light penetrate the diamond-shaped holes, casting a star map on the ground The diamond-shaped structure is deconstructed, yet reborn through the diamond-shaped patterns The bamboo strips are the strokes of light, flowing across the paper like moving shadows The diamond-shaped grid divides and stitches together the images As if traversing the interplay of reality and illusion Speaking of the philosophy of “space” and “gap”

 

 

《GIIMMII·Seeking the myriad phenomena》