For millennia, cultures around the world have celebrated the origin myth of a giant animal—such as a turtle or elephant—supporting the world on its back. Beijing-based artist Ruilin Wang reinterprets that image in DREAMS-ark, an evocative series of sculptures that depict whales carrying entire landscapes on their backs.
Each large-scale work consists of a distinct type of whale paired with a different world. Rocky, alpine mountains sprout from the back of a sleek blue whale. A sperm whale balances a placid, icy pool on its back. From the back of a humpback whale rises a range of misty, tree-covered cliffs reminiscent of the mountains commonly depicted in traditional Chinese ink paintings.
Wang’s series is a dreamy retelling of myth and folklore, reducing the entirety of the world into diminutive landscapes carried by whales that swim nebulously through the void. Both organic and architectural in form, the sculptures are a beautiful representation of nature, origins, and life.
Ruilin Wang: Behance
h/t: [I need a guide]