The Soft Wall Series

Olympic Village

The Soft Wall Series

By Ning Cheng

The Soft Wall series of artwork  are a presence that can be imagined, touched, and reshaped. Though it may be toppled, its physical existence and impact remain undeniable. During  high school, artist Ning Cheng developed a set of personal superstitions; rituals that brought as much stress as they did comfort. Before an exam began, she would hold her breath until and climb stairs with her forefoot pressed tightly against each step. These self-imposed rules became the brackets of her inner life, turning everyday actions into measures of good luck. If she failed to do a ritual properly, she would compulsively repeat it – walking up the stairs again and again. While the original motivations for these behaviors have faded, their traces linger, subtly shaping how she navigates the world today.

In this project, Ning selected ten of these rules and made temporary sculptures from everyday objects. Ning tried to extract the emotional and psychological essence of each ritual into abstract forms, concealing my involvement. These sculptures are intended to reactivate the sensations and memories tied to those habits, translating a private, internal experience into a shared, public space. Through this work, she engages in a dialogue with myself across time and space, while inviting others to reflect on the invisible boundaries we create to make sense of their lives.

Ning Cheng is an image-based artist working with photography and sculpture. Her practice is rooted in the exploration of personal perception and aims to abstract and transform overlooked, specific feelings of life and expand them into a universal experience.

This artwork is presented in collaboration with Capture Photography Festival and InTransit BC.