【CONCEPT】
It is very difficult to find such a large piece of boxwood. Since it was from a tree over 3,000 years old, the utmost respect and care was exerted during the creation of this work. The challenge was how to revitalize such a tree with brand new life. Nearly two years of effort went into sowing deep feeling to make it vividly come alive. While creating this work, I keenly felt the limitless possibilities of the life force and reflected on the issue of being cracked versus setting down roots. This was much like the sentiment expressed in the highly meaningful poem of Zheng Banqiao’s painting: “Insisting on never letting up amidst azure mountains, it sets down roots amidst the cracked mountain ridges; persisting amidst myriad trials and tribulations no matter which direction the wind blows.” That marvelous line, “…it sets down roots amidst the cracked mountain ridges…” is precisely the fortitude, the stubbornness that allows this orchid bereft of its original roots to sustain itself by shooting forth roots of life amidst the cracks of the urn, tightly clinging to a precarious rootedness, budding long leaves and splendidly blossoming!  

Since this work is carved from a complete block of wood, carving a large branch to small branch stems all requires composition and layout over the entire block. The blossoms stand up straight and sway amidst the broken urn. The boxwood hue and appearance allows one to sense that this orchid had not been cared for, it is dry and determined, yet struggles for a piece of sky, shooting forth from the broken urn undaunted by being unappreciated. This is much like the fact that most things in life do not go as we wish, so shouldn’t we learn from the orchid and ignore the 80 to 90 percent that goes wrong, instead concentrating on the 10 to 20 percent that goes right? Forget about having bedrock, don’t focus on the finish line; just work to create some space of your own.

【INTRODUCTION】
Carving from a piece of boxwood a flower urn with the appearance of chipped rough pottery is really an enormous challenge. Many times I felt dissatisfied with what was being carved so once more scrapped off a surface layer, working it over and over until I was completely satisfied with the broken urn effect. Looking at the entire work, the flower is the eye-catching lead role while the urn is a silent supporting role; yet, at a deeper level of meaning, I hope everyone considers the cracked urn’s support of life.  

Most will take delight in the minute folding and unfolding of the orchid blossom, vividly alive, row after row of shoots, half open, fully extended and withering…its branch struggles to move upward, and due to its burn and several twists and turns, its roots tangle. It seeks a way toward life, toward which to extend, its leaves are thick and full, nurtured as if in the flush of spring. Yet, is it because the old urn is cracked that it cannot contain the orchid replete with the will to live? Or is it that the flow appears soft but is actually has a resilient ability to bore through, causing the cracks and breaking forth from the urn? Whether the observer appreciates the orchid or pity the urn, they certainly will be touched.  

Exhibitions
＊ October 1992‒1993 Wu Ching Exhibition, Apollo Art Gallery
＊ May 2004 Chiayi Municipal Museum, “Wu Ching 2004 Sculpture Art Exhibition”