SHORT DESCRIPTION

At the tail end of the summer of 2023, WAG Architects was invited to participate in the Longjiang Wetland Art Festival and designed a series of art installations that align with the wetland theme for the festival. Four art installations were set up in the picturesque Hulan Wetland. We aimed to use familiar elements and objects as a starting point to attempt to redefine the interaction between humans and nature in creative ways. "Dancing Stone Forest" is one of these installations. We hope to explore with visitors who love nature how humans and nature can coexist harmoniously, allowing the only home on which we depend for living to achieve sustainable development. The original inspiration for this project comes from one of the most common elements in nature—stones. Stones are also one of the origins of human architectural development. Thousands of years later, we can still see many magnificent stone-based relics on the earth. These are the ingenious treasures of prehistoric humans transforming the natural environment. One of the most iconic examples is the famous prehistoric monument, Stonehenge, on the Salisbury Plain in England. "The Dancing Stone Forest" is inspired by Stonehenge, symbolizing this common natural element of stones. Huge white inflatable pillars present the form of stones and encourage people to interact with the "stones" in a softer manner. In the vast Hulan Wetland, we seem to see the passage of time, with the great prehistoric relics welcoming their new life in a way more suited to this era. "The Dancing Stone Forest" covers an area of 63 square meters. Thirty giant white pillars are arranged in a double spiral, forming a stone circle that invites people to enter and explore.