Pin River - Yangtze, 2007
U.S Consulate, Beijing, China
Steel pins
5’ x 17’-3” x 1-1/2”

Photography: Dapeng Juan, courtesy Pace Beijing

I have been using custom-made stainless steel pins (longer and slightly thicker than standard-issue straight pins) to draw three- dimensional waterways, often arranging them to follow a body of water whose edges are hard to define and that seem to disperse into the ocean. Estuaries and wetlands have been a primary focus of these works. When asked to create a piece for the U.S. Consulate in Beijing, I chose this medium to draw the Yangtze River.