This sculpture was born from a quiet contradiction. While attending a talk by a Zen master at Google headquarters, I watched him describe the journey toward Samadhi—a state of deep meditative absorption—as an upward staircase. Each step symbolized progress, discipline, and awakening. But as I listened, a different image formed in my mind: not a climb outward, but a descent inward.
Ascent in Descent visualizes this inversion. A single figure walks down a staircase into a mirrored space—yet in the reflection, they appear to ascend. The mirror doesn't just reverse direction; it reframes intention. Down becomes up. Inward becomes expansive. Progress is not always a rise but often a return—into self, into stillness.
当时在 Google 总部听一位禅师讲禅定，用向上阶梯图诠释通往三昧 Samadhi。我迟疑，画另一图景。一段下行的阶梯，往下走，往里走，进入内心
