繁华世界，不过一掬细沙，所谓一切有为法，应作如是观。 “一沙一世界”由MICA和 贝尊合作完成，展览中的所有作品均由琉璃、沙石等自然材料，和手工烧制的马赛克堆砌、镶嵌构成。展览从一粒沙、一颗马赛克切入，通过细微、缓慢、持续性的、自省的视觉呈现方式，邀请观众参与，共同探索自身、自然、世界。
The world, in all its thriving splendor, is no more than a handful of fine sand. As the Diamond Sutra says: “Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream, like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream, so is all conditioned existence to be seen.”
A World in a Grain of Sand is a joint effort by MICA and BIZEN. All of the art displayed in this exhibition are made from natural materials such as glass and sandstone, which have been hand-baked and assembled into mosaics. This exhibition begins on a scale as small as a grain of sand or a single mosaic tile. Slowly, subtly, persistently, and introspectively, it reveals itself. It invites the audience to take part—to explore themselves, explore nature, and explore the world.
“一沙一世界”从对维度的研究出发，目前科学界和宗教学界都相信我们身处的三维空间只是更高维度世界的一个子空间而已。迄今为止，时间是目前我们知道的第四维世界，而更高维度的世界，虽然很早就出现在宗教哲学理念中，但似乎距离我们依旧遥远。我们做一件长、宽、高三维的艺术品，可以是雕塑、装置，或者虚幻的折射的影像，每一维代表一条线或是一个方向。“线”的维度是1，面的维度是2，立体的维度是3，长久以来科学家认为维度也就只能是这三个整数之一，不能是分数。在1975年曼德尔布罗特(B. Mandelbrot)发现了分形体的“隐藏维度”之后，我们知道，海岸线、山脉轮廓、浮云边界、河流、血管、雪花、繁星等等，这些最平常的自然图案原来都是分形体，它们的维度都不是整数。隐藏的维度在越小越精细的尺度下，越能看得清楚。所以我们平常所看到的维度，只是事物的宏观维度；在非常精细的尺度下来观察，这些隐藏的维度就从事物之中呈现出来。如果我们将宏观维度当成是“阳”的维度，那么隐藏维度即是“阴”的维度。而隐藏维度内的事物正是巨观维度事物的复制，而且不管将隐藏维度放大几倍，所看到的结构和巨观维度完全一模一样，即碎形几何的自我相似性(self-similarity)，也是大自然全息性的再現。例如一粒沙子，在放大一百倍，一万倍以至一百亿倍后，它的沙粒外型会重复出现，并且这种碎形图案具有层层内含的相似结构。 具体来说就是沙粒中有微沙粒，而微沙粒中又有微微沙粒，如此一个包含一个，逐渐缩小，没有穷尽。
“一沙一世界”描述了沙中的隐藏世界，“ 微尘中有剎海，剎海中复有微尘，如是重重，不可穷尽”。
也正如佛教中常说的“一花一世界，一叶一如来”，“须弥藏芥子，芥子纳须弥”。高大如须弥山者仍可被缩小到能放入芥子的程度，而须弥山的本质仍然不变；而在中国的典籍《周易》中，也有“无极生太极，太极生两仪，两仪生四象，四象生八卦”，看似简单零散的事物之中蕴含世界的大道。佛、道的言语和分形几何学家用数学指证的事物合乎一致，道出细如一粒芥子，内部也可以具有的隐藏维度，而当我们进入这个隐藏维度时，看到的山还是山、海还是海，就跟我们在宏观世界所看到的山海完全一样。
受华严宗思想的启发，现代物理师大师玻姆 (David Bohm)提出了“全息论”(Holographic Paradigm)的观点，认为宇宙是一个不可分割的、各部分之间紧密关联的整体，任何一个部分都包含整体的信息。分形结构的自我相似性正是大自然全息性的表现，从一粒沙、一个水滴、一只昆虫到人、天，既是大自然的一部分，必具有自我相似的特性，也应都能反映大自然整体的讯息。 “一沙一世界“ 同时包含了空间的全息(一沙一世界)与时间的全息(剎那即永恒)，即为时空全息(Spacetime Holography)。我们可以说一个细胞全息缩影着一个人，而一个人全息缩影着整个宇宙。而人们通常所说的“天人合一”又何尝不是这一时空全息的一种体现——人是一个缩小的天，天则是放大了的人，正由于天人同类，故可相互感应，人类的生理、伦理、政治等各种社会现象都是天道的直接反映。
MICA在这种从微小到宏观，从物到人到自然的思考和讨论中实验创作。而认识贝尊的文祺也很偶然，或许用玻姆的全息论的说法也是必然，每一个独立的个体都是关联整体的一部分。贝尊做马赛克的镶嵌艺术。做一个个小块的重复、积累、堆砌、镶嵌；做沙子和自然金属的烧揉；做分形的连续时空。如果我们把每一块马赛克想象为一个放大的分形体，那么这种分形体经过成千上万次重复和堆砌后，产生的图形，或具象，或抽象，是否只是一小块分形体呢。与文祺真正的相遇，是“瞳画”项目在云南大嘎吉村的艺术支教时，大家一起画虫虫草草。惊叹于她在镶嵌艺术这个无际的世界中的不断努力，面对一个个小颗粒的不断反复试验和探索，也欣赏她在支教时一点点小事中的默默助人，不知为何总让人想到金刚经的“种种子”，有一天看到她在仔仔细细画农村墙头的一堵砖时，我想MICA和贝尊是应该一起做点什么的。 李捷 2018年8月写于新加坡
A World in a Grain of Sand was carried out from the perspective of dimensional research. Today, the domains of science and religion both believe that the three-dimensional space in which we reside is merely a subspace of a higher dimensional world. Time is currently the fourth dimension that we are aware of. Although philosophical and religious notions of higher-dimensional worlds have existed for quite some time, these concepts still feel distant and remote. When we produce art—anything from a sculpture or installation to an imaginary refracted image—with the three dimensions of length, width, and height, each dimension represents either a line or a direction. A line is one-dimensional, a planar surface is two-dimensional, and a solid is three-dimensional. For many years, scientists believed that dimension can only be in integral numbers, but not fractional parts.
However, in the wake of Benoit Mandelbrot’s 1975 discovery of the “hidden dimensions” of fractals, we realized that even the most ordinary images in nature—shorelines, the outlines of mountain ranges, the edges of clouds, rivers, veins, snowflakes, the stars—have always existed as fractals, and that their dimensions were fractional. When viewed on a smaller and more detailed scale, these hidden dimensions grow even clearer. Therefore, when viewing an object, the dimensions that are normally visible to us are merely macroscopic dimensions. When we view them on an extremely detailed scale, these hidden dimensions reveal themselves from within these objects. If we look at the macroscopic dimensions as the brighter yang dimensions, then these hidden dimensions are the more shadowy yindimensions. The objects inside the hidden dimensions are actually copies of the objects seen in the macro-dimensions; regardless of how much the hidden dimensions are enlarged, the structures seen there are identical to those seen in the macro-dimensions. This is known as fractal geometry’s principle of self-similarity, and it is also an example of the holographic nature of the natural world. For example, if a grain of sand is enlarged 100 times, 100,000 times, or even 100 billion times, the same image of that grain of sand will reappear, and these fractal images themselves will also have similar multilayered structures. To put it into plainer terms, a grain of sand contains smaller grains of sand, and even smaller grains of sand are contained within those. This pattern reduction repeats infinitely, with each level containing a smaller version of the previous one.
“A world in a grain of sand” describes the hidden worlds found inside sand. “A world of land and sea is contained inside the smallest mote of dust, and inside this miniature world itself are more motes of dust, and more worlds inside them, in a pattern that continues infinitely.”
This concept is also reminiscent of various ideas from Buddhism: “There is a world within a single flower, and a Buddha within a single leaf;” “A mustard seed is hidden in Mount Meru, and Mount Meru is contained within the mustard seed.”
In other words, even an object as massive as the sacred Mount Meru can be shrunk to fit inside a mustard seed, all without changing the mountain’s intrinsic nature. The classic Chinese text I Ching (also known as the Book of Changes)also contains the statement, “From the Ultimateless came the Supreme Ultimate; from the Supreme Ultimate came the Two Polarities; from the Two Polarities came the Four Phases; and from the Four Phases came the Eight Symbols.” Entire worlds lie within seemingly simple and random objects.
The words of Buddhism and Taoism mesh with statements that scholars of fractal geometry have proven mathematically. These texts state that even something as fine as a mustard seed can contain hidden dimensions, and that when we enter these hidden dimensions, the mountains that we see remain mountains, and oceans remain oceans, just like the mountains and oceans we see in the macroscopic world.
Inspired by the Huayan school of Buddhism, the influential modern physicist David Bohm proposed the concept of the “holographic paradigm.” He believed that the universe is an inseparable whole in which each part is closely linked, and that any part of it contained the information for the whole. The self-similarity of fractal structures is an expression of nature’s holographic essence. Anything that is a part of nature must possess the quality of self-similarity, and should also be able to reflect the entirety of the information of nature, be it as small as a grain or sand, a drop of water, an insect, or as large as a person or even the sky. “A world in a grain of sand” also incorporates the holography of space (sand and the worlds within) and the holography of time (from an instant to eternity)—in other words, the holography of space-time. We can say that a cell is a person’s holographic miniature, and that in turn, a person is the holographic miniature of the entire universe. Is the common Chinese saying “tian ren he yi,” meaning “nature and human beings form a single entity,” not also an embodiment of this space-time holography? A person is a miniature of nature, and nature is a person enlarged. It is because of the similarity between nature and people that they can interact with and respond to one another. Human physiology, ethics, politics, and other social phenomena are direct reflections of the way of nature.
MICA is engaged in experimentation and creation related to the contemplation and discussion of the microscopic and macroscopic alike, from objects, to people, and to nature. It was purely by chance that I met Wen Qi. Yet perhaps it was destined—as Bohm’s holographic paradigm states, each unique individual is also a part linked to an integral whole.
BIZEN is devoted to mosaic art. This involves the repetitive accumulation and inlaying of small individual pieces, the baking and molding of sand and natural metals, the creation of continuing fractal spaces. If we picture each mosaic tile as an expanded fractal body, then if this fractal body is repeated and duplicated thousands and thousands of times, enough to create an image (either concrete or abstract), is this not a small fractal body? My true first meeting with Wen Qi took place while I was leading the “Through the Gaze of a Kid” art charity project in Dagaji Village in Yunnan. She was one of our volunteers. I marveled at her unceasing commitment to the boundless world of mosaic art, the way she carried out her unceasing, repeated experimentation and exploration of each and every little tile. I also admired how she selflessly assisted people with all sorts of minor things during the project. For some reason, it reminded me of the “planting of seeds” mentioned in the Buddhist Diamond Sutra. One day, while watching her meticulously paint a brick on a short rural wall, it occurred to me that MICA and BIZEN should work together on something.
“一沙一世界”作品简介（MICA）
An Introduction to A World in a Grain of Sand (MICA)
《观·自在》
Guan: Zizai
由一只蜗牛引出的，观自在，观内在。 观：内观；一种洞彻一切的能力。 自在：一种状态，十相自在。寿命自在、心自在、愿自在、业自在、受生自在、解自在、神力自在、资具自在、法自在、智自在。 作品材料：镜片、玻璃、马赛克
Follow a snail to observe a state of uninhibited being and observe within.
Guan: To look inward—an ability of all-encompassing understanding.
Zizai: A state of being, and a state of uninhibited enlightenment, which can be manifested in ten facets: life, mind, ambitions, career, birth, understanding, spiritual power, possessions, dharma, and wisdom.
Materials: mirror, glass, mosaic
《究极·空》
Sunyata
我们的所见、所闻、所想、所知的一切存在只是空性，我们不过将自认为的真实，或美或丑，附加或标示与其上而已。作品以一只小小的，被认为丑陋的毛毛虫做为创作元素，制造出绚丽的效果。毛毛虫的未来，也许是蝴蝶，也许是飞蛾。
作品材料：玻璃、石料、马赛克、金属
Everything that we see, hear, think, and know is hollow. We are merely labeling them with our own notions of reality, beauty, or ugliness. This piece uses a tiny caterpillar (something that people assume be ugly) as a creative element, producing gorgeous results. The caterpillar’s future may be that of a butterfly, or it may be that of a moth.
Materials: glass, stone, mosaic, metal
人对于物象的判断和解读并不纯然取决于人的生理状态或是事物的物理属性，眼睛看到事物的形状、细节，都需要代入认知之中，人们无时不刻是带着“习惯”在观看。网络上阅读图像，偶尔会出现网速不够带来的马赛克图像过程，让观看变得不确定，这种过程我觉得很有趣，重构了我们习惯了的那种观看的方式，慢慢让我们有了这个像素化概念。
马赛克是像素化的，也是有着深厚历史的艺术形式，从材料媒介上也有这丰富的语言，从这个契机马赛克给了我表达的动机，每一个微小的色块其根源都来自于自然，矿石、玻璃、矿土在熔炉中燃烧，斑驳陆离的色彩在这个过程诞生，就像一次物质的升华，让细微的自然之物重新凝聚，变成能再次造物的媒介，就像一个轮回，我的作品就想传达这种本真。
A person’s judgment and understanding of an image do not purely depend on their physiological condition or an object’s physical attributes. The form and details of an object that one view must be substituted into their understanding; one must constantly carry their “habits” into their observations.
A slow internet connection will sometimes cause a picture to at first appear as a blotchy and unclear mosaic. I find this process quite interesting; it reconstructs the viewing method that we are used to. Over time, it gave me the inspiration for the idea of “pixelation.”
Mosaics are pixelated images. They are also an art form with a profound history behind them. In terms of the materials and mediums used, they also have a rich language. This opportunity served to motivate me to express myself through mosaics. Every tiny colored piece originates from nature—ore, glass, and bauxite were melted in a furnace, giving birth to multicolored shades, like a sublimation of matter. These tiny natural objects come together again and transform into a media re-imbued with the ability to create, seemingly reincarnated. This is the original meaning that my work wishes to convey.
《眩》
Illusion
用马赛克像素化的方式呈现一个本身就是具有像素化的形态。云的形态千变万化，它也在人的历史文化中承载了很多其他意义，它是宗教中成仙入道的祥瑞，也是人类对于超自然的想象对象。像素化的呈现，不带个人情感表达，由观者的个人经验去阅读，每个人心中都有一个自己的想象。
This work uses mosaic pixellation to present a shape that was originally very pixelated in nature. Clouds’ forms are infinitely changing, and they have held many different meanings throughout history and in different cultures. In religious contexts, they are auspicious signs for immortality or achieving the Way, as well as an object featured in supernatural fantasies. Its pixelated appearance does not convey any individual emotions; it is read through the lens of the viewer’s individual experiences. Everyone will have their own interpretation.
《艮岳系列》
“Gen Yue stone” Series
用彩色斑斓的碎玻璃像素化山、石，像素化已经隐去形象的飞天，那些似曾相识的造形、景观，在玻璃华丽的衬托下异常精美，如同南宋昙花一现的旷世奇景“艮岳”，几百年前的浮华在当下像一面镜子，映照的未必就是过往。
This piece uses multicolored fragments of glass to pixellate mountains, stones, as well as flying apsaras. Seemingly familiar shapes and sights become unusually beautiful with thanks to the splendidly colored glass, like the incomparable yet short-lived marvels of the imperial Gen Yue garden during the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). The lavish splendor of bygone centuries are reflected in this mirror, one that inevitably reflects the past.
1+1
生活中的事常常有两面性，一面是显性的，另一面是隐的。接受其一，就要接受其二。所谓＂坏事＂一定有＂好＂的一面；＂好事＂一定有＂坏＂的一面，两面是平等共生的。老子说＂祸兮,福之所倚;福兮,祸之所伏”，中间就包含了这个道理。但我们总是对隐性的另一面钝于和迟于体悟，才会得意忘形、失意落魄…。人间的很多问题来源于选择，我们太容易被自己定义的＂准则＂给绑架。跳出思维的一元论，就少了些＂是与非＂、＂得与失＂的苦恼。 《1+1》是一个立体化的太极图的变体，将传统太极图中的黑白对比改为全白，是偿试淡化二者的＂对立性＂，作品的核心是表现＂一事两面＂。作品中的两股＂力量＂相互作用、相生相存。。
Things in life tend to be two-sided. One side is visible, the other hidden. Accepting one means that you accept the other. Any “bad” thing inevitably has a “good” side, and any “good” thing inevitably has a “bad” side. These sides share a symbiotic relationship. The saying by Laozi, “Fortune relies on misfortune, and misfortune is often hidden within fortune,” contains the same message. However, we are always slow to comprehend the hidden sides of things. We become carried away by the good and become dazed… Many of the world’s problems can be traced back to a choice. We are too easily carried away by our own self-defined “rules.” If we can escape the monism of thought, we will be rid of some of the distress that comes with pondering “right and wrong” and “gains and losses.” 1+1 is a variation on a taijitu, or yin-yang symbol. It changes the black and white color scheme of the traditional yin-yang symbol, making it entirely white. It is an attempt to weaken the “conflict” between yin and yang; the heart of the piece is its expression of the idea that everything has two sides. The two “forces” in this piece interact and coexist with one another.
《黑泪》
Tears
人的恐惧感很多时候是因为看不清楚，当你看清楚时可能恐惧就变成了悲哀，这个世界比你知道的更美好，但也比你知道的更不堪，因为丑陋的东西大多藏在暗处，你知道的越多就越悲伤。
Tear often comes from not seeing clearly. When you can see clearly, tear may become sadness. This world is more beautiful than you know, but also more unbearable, for there are too many ugly things hidden in dark places. The more you are aware of, the more miserable you will become.
《完美》
Perfection
人经常因为做事不够好、不够＂完美＂而遗憾或不满。对别人、对自己都会有。绝大多数的＂不完美＂只是各种因素作用下的一个阶段性的结果。面对别人的＂不够完美＂我们选择接受往往是最好的，面对自己的＂不够完美＂该怎么处办？这让我想到木心的一句话＂爱完美，所以苦＂。木心的话显然是指向每个个体自己的，他说的这个＂完美不是一个模式化的定量，不是面面俱到，不是毫无瑕疵…而是恰到好处！少一分意境不到，多一分反而无趣，甚至使人生厌。所以木心说的苦是人处在自我超越的状态中感受到的体验，也可以说是俢行的境界。
People often feel a sense of regret or dissatisfaction if something is not done well enough, or not “perfectly” enough. They can feel this way toward others, as well as toward themselves. The vast majority of “imperfections” are merely temporary results caused by various factors. When one is faced with another person’s concept of “imperfection,” the best choice is often to accept them. But what about when faced with one’s own “imperfection”? This reminded me of a quote by the poet, painter, and writer Mu Xin: “To love perfection is to know hardship.” Mu Xin’s words are clearly directed at every individual. The “perfection” that he mentioned is not a patterned quantity.” It cannot cover every possible aspect, and it is not flawless… Yet it is just moderately! Not enough, and the proper state will not be attainable; too much, and it will not be interesting, and may even repel people. Therefore, the hardship that Mu Xin spoke of is an experience that people have while excelling themselves. It could also be called a state of self-cultivation.
作品《完美》正是通过一个看上去近乎完美的＂残缺＂的圆环，向观者提出两个问题：
你所遇见的是什么？
什么是完美的＂度＂？
By presenting a seemingly perfect “broken” circle, the piece Perfectionasks audiences two questions:
What are you looking at?
How do we measure perfection?
公众参与作品：《一沙一世界》
Public Participation Piece: A World in a Grain of Sand
由贝尊现场指导观众镶嵌艺术的技巧，共同创作“时·空的沙漏”。现场作品由上至下镶嵌玻璃马赛克碎片。最终作品经过后期剪辑将每一帧反转、快进，形成沙漏以及倒立人群的影像。同样表现了对真实、幻象，快慢，时间，以及“一沙一世界”的理念。在一粒沙中看到世界，在刹那间经历永恒；前者讲的是空间视野（尺度）的转变，后者说的是时间视野的转变。人生的修行无非是让我们内心的视野收放自如，犹如自动对焦的镜头，不管远近，都看得清楚。
With BIZEN’s on-site guidance, audiences will use the techniques of mosaic art to create a piece called Time: The Empty Hourglass. The piece will be covered from top to bottom with a mosaic of glass fragments. Ultimately, after undergoing some post-production work, including reversal and fast-motion, the piece will be turned into a video showing a flowing hourglass, complete with “sands” comprised of an inverted image of the crowd. It will also express the ideas of truth, illusion, speed, time, as well as “a world in a grain of sand.” To see a world within a grain of sand, to experience eternity in an instant—the former refers to the transformation of a spatial field of view (or scale), while the latter refers to the transformation of a temporal field of view. Self-cultivation in life is simply a natural adjustment of our inner field of vision. It is like an autofocus lens; no matter the distance, things remain clear.
*BIZEN贝尊:
贝尊是中国高端镶嵌艺术品牌，以艺术创新理念著称，致力于镶嵌艺术品创作、本土及国际性的艺术展览、文化推广，并与高等艺术教育院校建立项目合作和人才交流机制。创始人文祺希望通过创新、挑战不同的艺术理念与技法，通过各种材料的组合运用，让这种“久远而崭新”的创作语言唤醒人们对镶嵌艺术表现的热情和关注。贝尊努力在历史传统和当代文化中寻找独特的结合点以及明确的文化身份定位，推动镶嵌文化在国际艺术领域的进一步发展。
BIZEN is a Chinese brand dedicated to mosaic art. Well-known for its creative concepts, BIZEN’s devotion to mosaic art is seen the exhibitions it holds in China and abroad, as well as other forms of cultural promotion. BIZEN has worked with art institutes to establish joint initiatives and exchange programs for talented artists. Wen Qi, BIZEN’s founder, strives to awaken passions for artistic expression through mosaic art, through the innovation and questioning of artistic concepts and techniques, and through the combination of different media. Using creative language belonging both to the ancient past and the present day, she wishes to bring a new focus to this art form. BIZEN is constantly searching for unique intersections within historical tradition and contemporary culture, as well as unique cultural identities, and it strives to promote the development of mosaic culture in an international context.
*MICA (Mini Idea Creative Art)
由李捷、贺亮、王长兴三位艺术家发起，本着芥子纳须弥的理念，从微小元素、材料和想法切入，通过各种艺术表现手法，引发对自身、自然以及宏观意义的思考。 MICA同时也是一个谈话场和试验场，它不仅呈现了三位发起人相识二十年以来相同的和迥异的艺术观和世界观的思辨以及对话，也在每一次展览中邀请观众的介入，参与实验和对谈。
MICA was founded by the artists Dr. Jie Li-Elbraechter, Liang He, and Changxing Wang. Holding onto the idea of “a mountain inside a mustard seed,” and launching their inquiries from a level of small elements, materials, and ideas, they use various methods of artistic expression to reflect on the individual, nature, and macroscopic meanings.
MICA is also a space for dialogue and experimentation. It presents audiences with the speculations and dialogues regarding the varying worldviews and perspectives on art that these three individuals have developed over the course of two decades. In addition, each of their exhibitions invites audiences to get involved, experiment, and engage in a conversation.
For more information, please cotact:
China: Johnnie Cheng
Tel：+86 13928699387
wechat: BigChing
Email：bizenmosaic@gmail.com
Singapore: Vanessa Li
Tel：+65 90549980
wechat: vanessaSGP
Email：vanessa910715@gmail.com