Can sludge hold the memories of its passage, if stones can capture the echoes of their fractures? , 2024
Fired sewage sludge is applied to a tunnel-like structure made of plywood, hardware, plaster, wire mesh, gauze, and various objects (with added quality improvers: oyster shell powder, volcanic clay, and plant ash).

Luo Jr-shin’s work “Can sludge hold the memories of its passage, if stones can capture the echoes of their fractures” transforms the main entrance of the exhibition into an abstract sewage system corridor, creating intense physical pressure and a sense of spatial disorientation. The installation uses sludge cakes collected from a sewage treatment plant as raw material, which is fired, ground, and then converted into the interior coating of the sculpture. This sculpture metaphorically ingests and expels the daily waste produced by humans, examining the essential cycles and transformations in nature driven by human consumption and excretion. Boldly assuming the role of an alchemist, the artist directly converts waste and filth into artwork, proposing a path for material regeneration and value creation. The piece also invites the audience to explore themes of darkness, filth, and the claustrophobic aspects of the human psyche.

Structural design: Hsu Wen-Ching
Photography: Chien Hao-Chiang
Curator: LU Esther, Carolina Castro Jorquera