Xu Bing Turns Construction Remnants into 12-Ton Phoenixes

Craft & Design
Xu Bing Turns Construction Remnants into 12-Ton Phoenixes

xubing phoenix sakata

Chinese artist Xu Bing spent two years creating his newest work, Phoenix, a pair of 12-ton phoenix sculptures made entirely from scrap Bing culled from construction sites in China, “including demolition debris, steel beams, tools, and remnants of the daily lives of migrant laborers.” The male phoenix, named Feng, is 90 feet long, while the female phoenix, Huang, is 100 feet from beak to tail. The pair are on display through October 27 at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, suspended from the ceiling inside the museum’s Building 5.

xubing phoenix sakata2

Here’s a fascinating video on the installation process, made by The Dark Sky Company, LLC, with music by Wilco:

And a series of images shot by Hideo Sakata (including the ones above):
xubing phoenix sakata3

xubing phoenix sakata detail2

xubing phoenix sakata5

xubing phoenix sakata detail3

xubing phoenix sakata7

xubing phoenix sakata detail4

xubing phoenix sakata detail

[via My Modern Met]

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

I'm a word nerd who loves to geek out on how emerging technology affects the lexicon. I was an editor on the first 40 volumes of MAKE, and I love shining light on the incredible makers in our community. In particular, covering art is my passion — after all, art is the first thing most of us ever made. When not fawning over perfect word choices, I can be found on the nearest mountain, looking for untouched powder fields and ideal alpine lakes.

Contact me at snowgoli@gmail.com or via @snowgoli.

View more articles by Goli Mohammadi

ADVERTISEMENT

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 16th iteration!

Prices Increase in....

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
FEEDBACK