Philosophers throughout history have agonized over the mind-body problem, attempting to describe how human consciousness relates to corporeality. While French polymath René Descartes viewed minds and bodies as separate kinds of “substance,” various Buddhist teachings maintain a holistic approach instead. Contributing to this debate, Chinese artist Wang Yuyu considers physical bodies as entities that evoke the metaphysical, generating a practice that spans sculpture, installation, image-making, and performance.

Wang’s early sculptures center on the human corpus, often featuring organ-like masses implanted in metallic structures or suspended in the air. In Pierce the River (2022), two nodular, flesh-colored silicone sacs dangle from the ceiling, with jujube tree thorns bursting through the skins and umbilical-looking tubes drooping toward the floor. At once alien and anthropic, the shapes resemble cocoons—symbols of both inner and outer transformation, as well as the ongoing cycle of birth, life, and death.