Dragon Palace Nantou
2021
Dragon Palace Nantou
size｜10*10*10 m
material｜bamboo, wood, rope and fabric
Artist Cheng Tsung FENG’s Dragon Palace series focuses on the unique characteristics of local marine life, transforming their features through his mastery of traditional crafts such as bamboo weaving, woodwork, and rope construction. He captures and reinterprets the forms of extraordinary sea creatures found across Taiwan’s islands, shaping them into ritual-like spatial and landscape installations. At night, these structures come alive with a breathing rhythm of light — glowing and dimming as if inhaling and exhaling — evoking the presence of a colossal beast awakening in the darkness. This luminous guardian seems to guide the island’s residents toward the mythical Dragon Palace of oceanic folklore, a place of wonder and imagination.
For the Nantou Lantern Festival, FENG draws inspiration from a multitude of marine beings — shrimps, crabs, and fish among them — to construct a glowing installation that appears to float lightly upon the water’s surface, like a fleeting vision of the legendary Dragon Palace. Hundreds of bamboo poles are lashed and woven together with cords, forming a protective structure that resembles a sacred altar. Around its perimeter and stretching overhead, outward-facing bamboo elements radiate in all directions, their bound and wrapped cords serving both as ornament and as symbols of ritual order. This deliberate composition conjures an ancient, mysterious atmosphere, suggesting a ceremonial site suspended between myth and reality.
At the heart of the altar hovers a luminous orb, radiating a gentle, alluring light. Its soft glow contrasts with the raw materiality of bamboo and rope, creating a sense of delicate energy that beckons viewers closer. The interplay of structure and illumination does more than recreate marine imagery; it channels the aura of sacred gathering places, where light is both protective and transformative. FENG’s installation thus becomes not only a visual spectacle, but also a symbolic vessel inviting people to step into a dreamlike encounter with the ocean’s mysteries — a momentary glimpse of a vanished palace, shimmering on the water like a myth brought to life.
2021｜Nantou Lantern Festival｜02/06-03/01｜Nantou County Exhibition Center
adviser｜Tourism Administration, MOTC, Council of Indigenous People, Hakka Affairs Council
organizer｜Nantou County Government
curator｜Red Sky Advertising
sponsor｜NAK Sealing Technologies Corporation
artist｜Cheng Tsung FENG
project designer｜Chan Wei HSU
woodwork｜Yumu Manufacture & Research
weaving craftsman｜Chih Ying YANG, Tswei Wen CHANG
lighting design｜Oude Light
lighting executor｜Beamtec Lighting
photography｜Fixer Photogrphy Studio
2021
龍宮 南投
尺寸｜10*10*10 m
材質｜竹、木、線繩
藝術家范承宗的《龍宮》系列創作，關注的是當地的海洋生物特徵，並將其擷取、揉和，並透過他擅長的竹、木、繩材等傳統工藝，進行構築與編織。以樣貌特殊且具有儀式感的空間地景裝置，搜集台灣島嶼各地的奇特海洋生物，入夜後牠將亮起隨呼吸頻率忽明忽滅的光，如一頭在夜裡甦醒的巨獸，帶著島民們神往海洋故事裡的神秘龍宮。
此次於南投燈會的創作，范承宗以蝦、蟹、魚等眾多海洋生物特徵為靈感，搭建出一座漂浮在水上的燈光裝置，如神話中稍縱即逝的一座幻影中的龍宮。數百支竹材以線繩編織固定，排列成一座包覆的神壇。外圍與上方各環繞了向外發散的竹材，並以線繩纏繞裝飾，營造出古老神秘的儀式氛圍。神殿中央懸浮著一顆圓形光球，發出柔和的光線，企圖以柔媚的能量吸引人們的目光前來。
2021南投燈會｜竹心．築心｜水上副燈｜02/06-03/01｜南投縣會展中心
指導單位｜交通部觀光局、原住民族委員會、客家委員會
主辦單位｜南投縣政府
策畫單位｜赤天空股份有限公司
作品贊助｜茂順密封元件科技股份有限公司
藝術家｜范承宗
專案設計｜許展維
竹木構築｜與木製研（陳建同、黃忠毅、李長峯、陳建中、邵琮傑、徐靖惠、王泊君、徐品喦）
繩編製作｜楊知穎、張萃文
照明設計｜偶得設計（陳怡彰、張昕荷）
燈具設備｜丞逸照明（林佑政、黃文寶）
攝影｜定影影像（攝影師：李尚謙／攝影助理：蔡蕙羽／專案助理：邱宇恩／後期：姚宇聲）