Preface

Artist Statement

My artwork explores how environmental disinformation does not always appear as an outright lie; sometimes it takes the form of a comforting narrative that is partly true, but incomplete enough to conceal a larger loss. I came to this idea through the contrast between two animals of China’s Yangtze River: the Yangtze finless porpoise, whose population has shown signs of recovery through conservation efforts, and the baiji, which has been declared functionally extinct and has not been confirmed in the wild for many years. In 2004, the last wild baiji carcass discovered was found along the Nanjing section of the river, in my hometown, which made this loss feel both historical and deeply personal. I was struck by how easily public attention is drawn to stories of recovery, while extinction can fade from view. In Chinese, both animals are called “tun,” which can blur the distinction between them and allow the fate of one to be mistaken for that of the other unless the difference is made explicit.

In my painting, the finless porpoise rises into light while the baiji fades beneath the surface like a vanishing memory. Having studied traditional Chinese painting for ten years, I chose watercolor for this work, as both media emphasize the control of water to create transparency and layered washes. The distant city skyline and ferries reflect the reality that both species inhabit the middle and lower Yangtze, one of China’s most densely urbanized and economically developed regions, and they also point to the human activity—especially vessel traffic and underwater noise—to which both animals are highly sensitive. Through this work, I hope viewers will question selective environmental narratives and consider what is remembered, what is overlooked, and what truths remain submerged.