ling-wen tsai

Site-Specific Installation, Milk Paint, 850+ Pine Stacks, Mill Cove Greenbelt, South Portland, Maine, 2024

This research-based site-specific installation envisions the projected sea level rise for this section of the South Portland Greenbelt alongside Mill Cove’s saltwater marsh. Salt marshes are extremely vital to the ecosystem: they provide wildlife habitat, purify water, help prevent land erosion, and are one of the largest naturally occurring carbon sinks. However, they are fragile and rapidly disappearing due to sea level rise, storm surge, and development. This installation consists of 850 painted wooden stakes, each stake representing one of the different species of marine life in the Casco Bay Estuary. This project draws attention to the importance and vulnerability of salt marsh ecosystems. Sea levels in this area are projected to rise 3 feet by 2050. On January 13, 2024, the storm surge reached this level. We are “ahead of schedule.”

site-specific installation, film, paper, windows, Speedwell Contemporary, Portland, Maine, 2022

1. Rising/Sinking (Chair), wood and milk paint, 12 x 12 x 5 inches, 2024

2. Rising/Sinking (Bench), wood and milk paint, 12 x 12 x 5 inches, 2024

participatory installation, light, stools, noise reduction headsets, dimensions variable, 2012

single channel video projection on floor (silent), dimensions variable, 2012

installation view, single channel video projection, 14'x8', 2007

post-performance installation, acrylic on frosted vinyl, 15'x2' each, 2005

Metamorphosis of Meditation: An evening of Improvisation explores the concept of collective consciousness as it applies to both the art of improvisation and practices of spiritual enlightenment through meditation. The sound/music for this performance was realized by the ISQ: Improvisational String Quartet (classical guitar: Nathan Kolosko, violin: Yasmin Vitalis, bass: Katharine Stambach, fretless guitar: Al Guesto). The work begins with solo improvisations by each musician, allowing me to develop a relationship and unique expressive language with them individually. Gradually adding additional performers the work grows into a collective improvisation. My response and interaction with the musicians was realized on six 15'x2' panels of translucent vinyl hung from ceiling to floor. The panels remained on display as a visual record of the live performance.

white vinyl flagging tape, dimensions variable, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, 2009

participatory installation, piano, two instructional scores, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine, 2005

Silence/Listen is a participatory installation inspired by John Cage and the Fluxus movement. The installation consists of: two instructional scores ("Silence" and "Listen"), an upright piano, and a charcoal line drawing on the wall representing a blank music score. The score and the absence of participants represents a "visual silence." Viewers are invited to sit at the piano and play "Silence" or "Listen."

water & soil from the site, biodegradable pots, drinking glass, dimensions variable. Toshei Village, Tainan, Taiwan, 2008

bamboo sticks, gauze

wood, oil paint, dimensions variable, 1999

I use the traditional Chinese book format (wood or bamboo pieces bound with strings) to symbolize the vehicle of communication and the origin of civilization. On the "Book" (the surface of the wood pieces), the text is written in both Chinese and English to express my nostalgic longing. This piece was installed on a skylight. The act of looking up at the "sky"--the place we all share--is essential to the work.