A Thousand Strips of Silence

Suspended between motion and stillness, this striking installation transforms the humble poster into an atmospheric field of perception. Composed of thousands of hanging paper strips printed with fragments of Chinese characters, the work extends beyond two-dimensional communication to become an immersive environment of shifting form and meaning. As viewers pass through, their movements stir the air; the paper flutters, the text dissolves—language momentarily unravels into abstraction. What was once meant to inform now invites contemplation, evoking the quiet chaos of an age where messages multiply faster than they can be understood.

This reimagined poster explores the theme of the “innumerable” through rhythm, repetition, and disruption. Each strip is identical in form yet different in motion, mirroring the tension between constancy and transformation that defines both nature and culture. The design draws from the philosophical idea of difference within repetition—where sameness becomes a field for variation, discovery, and renewal. Here, the act of viewing becomes participatory: one does not simply look at the poster but walks through it, experiencing a choreography of air, paper, and light.

Crafted entirely from paper, the piece pays homage to the enduring yet endangered medium of print. Its deliberate materiality turns fragility into strength, translating the tactile intimacy of ink and fiber into a living structure. The simplicity of its construction belies its conceptual depth—each strip a line in an unwritten poem, each movement a breath of design made visible.

By expanding graphic design from surface to space, the work questions what it means to see, to read, and to remember. It captures the paradox of our visual culture: that meaning often hides within excess, and clarity may emerge only through motion. What remains after the fluttering subsides is not a message, but a sensation—the soundless echo of countless strips whispering in unison.