Groundless Flower — ཨ unfolds as a journey shaped by Yefeng’s experiences of living between East and West and traversing vast landscapes including the Gobi Desert, the Qingzang Plateau, and New Mexico’s Badlands. Combining digital and analogue elements – such as aerial footage of desert terrains, 3D renderings, computer-generated atmospheric simulations, and animated fragments of painting – the artwork brings together cultural, historical, and spiritual references to evoke a state of placelessness and liminality. The desert, often seen as an empty expanse, is reimagined as a charged site of imagination and shifting possibility.

At the centre of the work, a luminous flower drifts between physical presence and d igital apparition, delicately treading the line between desolation and hope. Over time, this form adapts into what the artist describes as a ‘cosmic tree’ – a reimagining of the Tree of Life, which is a symbol found across global mythologies. It is uprooted from hierarchical structures and rendered as a floating, interconnected web.

Frank WANG Yefeng (b. 1984) examines the tensions between belonging and estrangement, frequently blurring boundaries between the human and non-human, the virtual and the physical. His multidisciplinary practice spans 3D animation, video installation, sculpture, painting, drawing, and writing, and is shaped by experiences of migration and cultural displacement. Yefeng’s projects have been featured in exhibitions internationally, including the artport at Whitney Museum of American Art, High Line Art, BRIC Biennial, Smack Mellon, and International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York City; OCAT Biennial, China; CCS Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY; Gasworks London, UK; Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea; and Hyundai Motorstudio, Beijing, among others.

High Line Originals

 A co-commission by High Line Art and CHANEL Culture Fund