Posted inArt

Two Mythological Creatures Rise from the Castoffs of China’s Construction

The myth of the phoenix casting itself into the flames only to rise up stronger is powerful and monumental, with reverberations of self-sacrifice, destruction, hope, and regeneration. In an installation in the nave of Manhattan’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Chinese artist Xu Bing has realized a pair of these birds from the debris of Beijing construction sites.