Galloping Light Year

The project is an environmental installation that integrates Eastern zodiac culture, local industrial memory, and the visual language of contemporary public art. Located in Gangshan District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the work takes the horse as its central symbolic image, responding to the upcoming Year of the Horse in 2026. Through layered applications of material, structure, and light, the design translates Gangshan’s historical context, transforming the area’s achievements in the wood industry into luminous symbols. By constructing a cultural narrative that spans the past, present, and future, the project reveals that the city possesses not only strong industrial foundations but also a profound humanistic depth.

The work combines traditional mortise-and-tenon craftsmanship with contemporary geometric language, aiming to create a cultural carrier imbued with a sense of vitality. In terms of construction, the project breaks away from the steel frameworks and fabric materials commonly used in lantern festival installations, instead challenging the use of classical Eastern mortise-and-tenon techniques. These traditional joints are paired with low-poly geometric facets, reinterpreting Eastern craftsmanship through a modern, digital design perspective. The designers sought to regenerate traditional techniques within contemporary contexts, allowing craftsmanship to evolve with time.

The most groundbreaking feature of the project lies in the display window embedded at the front of the horse’s body. By intentionally carving out a void at the core of the work, curatorial control is returned to the local community. The content of the display can be updated according to festivals, industrial narratives, or artisan creations, transforming the installation into an open cultural platform rather than a closed art object.