Jingwei Bu: Pouring Tea Until It Is All Evaporated

Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, 2023

Jingwei Bu is a Tarntanya/Adelaide-based artist working across media and disciplines. At the core of her practice is an emphasis on ritual and repetition and an exploration of the agency of time. Influenced by Buddhist Chan philosophy, Jingwei’s work is responsive, experimental and participatory.

Pouring Tea Until It Is All Evaporated is a durational installation that draws on tea ceremony, Taichi practice and Buddhist Chan/Zen philosophy to craft a communal, meditative and multi-sensory experience. The work commenced with a sequence of interactive performances. Bu, together with Lisa Myeong-Joo, Natalie Quanyau Tso and Henry Wolff, engaged in the repetitive motion of pouring tea upon platforms of white paper. Throughout, gallery visitors were invited to sit and partake with guidance from the performers. As the tea dripped and spilled, the paper stacks were transformed—moisture and tannins making their mark and shaping the final installation.

Pouring Tea Until It Is All Evaporated was developed by Jingwei Bu whilst in residence at Nexus Arts. The presentation at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf was generously supported by an Adelaide Central School of Art Fellowship. Serving ware for the performance and installation was crafted by Montessa Maack.