Past beyond time (2019) features a surreal landscape: objects crystallised in the mud, in memory of the great flood of Florence in 1966, become an unusual, yet familiar, stage for a post-apocalyptic rebirth. This timeless landscape created by the Chinese artist during a residency at MAD evokes the spirit and behaviour of a community on the occasion of dramatic catastrophic events, which are followed by a rebirth, when life resumes its habits and people are once again able to create and produce. This work was conceived before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and today can be re-read as a sign of hope toward a new rebirth.

This work was selected among the creations produced during the China Project artist residencies, in the framework of cultural exchanges held by MAD between Italy and China, in collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts of Sichuan and Zhong Art International.