“MAP OF FAHUA”

“Map of Fahua”

Yufan Hu RISD’23

10x20x4 centimeters, MDF and fire

A member of the map series, this work is based on my visit to Fahua, a temple complex in Beijing that was destroyed or burned during WWII. All wooden structures were erased, with only stone and brick left: the foundation delineating the layout and the extruding tomb tower for monks. I was overwhelmed by the strong sense of absence there, which drove me to ‘conjure’ it. Studying in the U.S., I relied on various online resources, i.e., simulations (images/layouts/maps/essays, etc.). I made it into a wood (MDF) jig for metal bending: rods to bend metal against can be inserted into holes in the extruding blocks of wood constituting the temple’s foundation. Metal can also be bent and welded together according to the shape of the negative space in between these blocks. Holes are pillars, routes are negatives; pillars for bending, negatives for welding. MDF, an imitation of wood often used as preparation for and modeling of the real work to come, is unsuitable for welding as it can’t stand fire. It is instead marked permanently with burns delineating the contours of the metal rods when I tried to heat them, mapping the routes inside the temple complex. The map is oriented toward 30 degrees west of north, the direction the complex faces in its original location. A constant process of simulation, pointing to a lack, absence and excess.