Firework & Bonsai

2017
Participatory project & Photography

Firework and Bonsai is a public participatory project that stages a conversation about air pollution and the local policy banning fireworks in Beijing. As the city faced severe smog linked to rapid development, that often intensified in winter by widespread coal burning, the municipal government identified fireworks during the Spring Festival as a major contributor and introduced a complete ban beginning in 2017. In parallel, “green” solutions were promoted: residents were encouraged to buy bonsai for their homes and to plant trees in gardens.

In this project, the artist invites participants to build their own “firework bonsai”, a small sculptural arrangement combining plants and fireworks, and then set off the fireworks within their creations. The act is deliberately contradictory: an intimate symbol of environmental care is made to absorb the smoke from fireworks. Through this visual and emotional paradox, this project provides a space to discuss policy, responsibility, and the uneasy coexistence of care, spectacle, and futility.

Participants’ firework bonsai are documented in portrait-style photographs, and fireworks set off in the neighborhood create a memorable weekend.