10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar

10,000 petri dishes create a mountainscape in palacio quintanar
image courtesy of ye cheng

chinese architect ye cheng has composed a mountianscape out of 10,000 petri dishes in the courtyard of palacio quintanar, an ancient spanish nobleman’s mansion turned artspace in spain. the open-air space houses ‘kong shanshui/ empty shanshui’, the large-scale installation composed of mounds of glass hills interwoven with white stones. from morning to night, the visual characteristics of the immersive sculpture change; sunlight in the morning passes through the transparent materials, revealing a reflective glow around throughout the space, while neon light installed under each glass form creates a self-luminous glow at night. responding to the natural environment that surrounds it, the small translucent trays wrap around the existing trees. the artwork dissolves the original functions of the man-made petri dish as standardized industrial products by instilling an organic, free-form essence into its installation.

‘kong shanshui/ empty shanshui’ installed at palacio quintanar
image courtesy of palacio quintanar

10,000 petri dishes are arranged as a mountainscape
image courtesy of ye cheng

the immersive sculptural work wraps around the trees in the courtyard
image courtesy of palacio quintanar

a view from above the court
image courtesy of palacio quintanar

during the day, light transfers through the transparent glass dishes
image courtesy of palacio quintanar

glowing lights are installed under each mound of petri dishes
image courtesy of palacio quintanar