Unleash Your Imagination with Ma Yansong's Mind-Blowing New Installations: Light and Forma Fantasia!

As the world of architecture continues to evolve, one firm stands out for its forward-thinking, technologically advanced designs. MAD Architects, founded by Ma Yansong, has earned a reputation for creating innovative structures that reflect his creative philosophy of Shanshui City, which emphasizes the connection between humanity, nature, and the urban environment. But did you know that MAD Architects also has a robust and visionary artistic practice?

Ma Yansong's art spans a wide range of mediums, including site-specific commissions, permanent installations, objects, exhibitions, and immersive environments. His work is transportive and reflective, proposing reconsidered experiences and alternate futures. Through his art, Ma seeks to create harmonious experiences that connect the individual, the urban environment, and nature, offering a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

One of Ma's most striking installations is Hutong Bubble 218, which he created in 2008-9. The Hutong is a traditional Chinese courtyard residence found throughout cities in northern China. In Hutong Bubbles, Ma demonstrates how small-scale artistic interventions can reactivate a community, create spaces for collaboration, and preserve the historic fabric of the city. This work exemplifies Ma's belief in the power of artistic intervention and historic revitalization to reinvigorate a community.

Another significant example of Ma's work is the Tunnel of Light, which he created for the 2018 Echigo-Tsumari Trienniale. Located in the heart of Japan's snow country, Echigo-Tsumari is experiencing population decline as many relocate to urban centres for work or education. To reconnect residents with the beauty of the natural landscape, Ma created five spaces within the tunnel, drawing on the five elements of nature (wood, earth, metal, fire, and water) and inviting relaxation, contemplation, and introspection.

This summer, Ma unveiled two new works that build on this tradition. Light is a new, ongoing installation commissioned for "Art at FULIANG 2021". The festival aims to highlight the character and charm of Hanxi Village in Fuliang County, which has been shaped by the region's porcelain industry, abundant water, and vast tea fields. Light appears to float above the rolling tea fields, hovering above the landscape. The installation becomes a medium for connecting to nature as it responds to the surrounding light and darkness, appearing to float like a cloud, become translucent, glow like a beacon, or join forms with the passing fog.

In addition, Ma created the exhibition design for Forma Fantasia, artist Liu Wei's installation within Nine-Tiered Pagoda – Spatial and Visual Magic, a cross-disciplinary collaboration between nine groups of artists, architects, and graphic designers, on view at The Pingshan Art Museum in Shenzhen through October. For Forma Fantasia's exhibition design, Ma united Liu Wei's scattered abstract shapes within a black, shadowless room absent of defining characteristics other than bright lights that amplify the space's ambiguity. The dazzling lights heighten emotions and sensations, building on MAD's anti-material approach that prioritizes spatial feeling over structural expression.

Ma Yansong's artistic practice is an integral part of MAD Architects' philosophy and vision. His work reflects his belief in the power of art and architecture to create meaningful, harmonious experiences that connect the individual, the urban environment, and nature. Through his installations, Ma seeks to transport viewers to alternate realities and encourage them to contemplate the relationship between humanity and the natural world.

Cover photo ©Tian Fangfang