If we gaze at the landscape long enough, will it share its secrets with us in return? What has it seen that we have not? Perhaps the wind carries echoes of lost voices, or the river holds reflections of forgotten journeys. Perhaps the trees whisper stories that only those who listen closely can hear.
In the lecture performance The Landscape Between Us II (2022), artist Xiaoshi Qin will share stories of folklore and history from the Pearl River estuary through her personal encounters with the land. For years, she has wandered through these shifting terrains, listening to the silent imprints of time. As part of her artistic practice, she has developed a ritual of hiding objects—crafted from her imagination and inspired by collected stories—within the mountains and rivers and forgotten corners of the region. These objects, concealed yet present, form a quiet dialogue between the artist and the landscape.
During her journeys, the artist has uncovered traces of South China’s pirate history, local stories scribbled on the crumbling walls of village temples, and poems left behind by sailors in abandoned pavilions. Each encounter, whether an artifact, a voice, or a shadow, weaves together a tapestry of memory and myth. Through sound, objects, and images, the artist blurs the line between fiction and reality. In doing so, the landscape itself becomes a storyteller, revealing the quiet, untold narratives of the Pearl River Delta.
