Chung-Ho Cheng | 球球怎麼不見啦？ Where Have All the Mud-balls Gone?


Chung-Ho Cheng

臺灣 Taiwan

年份 Year

地點 | Location
階梯廣場旁樹林 Forest near the Outdoor Theatre

材料 | Materials

理念 | Statement



水田濕地對於都市叢林的環境生態淨化功能， 就如同蚯蚓能改善土壤結構、修復被汙染的土地一樣。 那麼，是否在這高度開發的台北盆地裡，關渡平原也正扮演著蚯蚓的角色， 對都市環境進行著改變其理化性質的重要工作？！


Earthworms live in the soil. During the day they burrow underground; at night they come to the surface to feed on decaying leaves and microorganisms. Earthworms ingest small soil particles and excrete in the form of casts, which is an important index of earthworm species richness as well as soil fertility.

In addition, earthworms remove heavy metal from the soil and accumulate it in their body tissues. The application of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides has caused the decline of earthworms. In other words, earthworms are an indicator of metal pollution in soil. The advent of chemical pest control has inadvertently and irreversibly harmed earthworms and the soil micro-organisms.

The significance of paddy fields to the city is as earthworms to the soil. They both play a role in ecological purification and restoration. Guandu Plain, like an earthworm to its soil, the Taipei Basin, positively change the structure of their environments, and is essential to a healthy ecosystem.

This artwork was inspired by earthworm feces in the shape of mud balls. Muds in the park were collected and processed into clays and arranged into a labyrinth. The circuitous rather than blocking-up labyrinth routes allow people to walk in and reflect upon the ecological changes when they have to make a detour. This artwork offers a chance for people to know more about the behavior of earthworms, and also works as a reminder of the decline of worm castings in the paddy fields, which is an alert to the environmental crisis. This is an issue that no one can sit on the sidelines.

藝術家 Artist





Chung-Ho Cheng

Chung-Ho Cheng, who began his pottery creation in 1983, collaborates with his wife Chia-Ping Lu since 2008 to make natural installation art. His works have been awarded and exhibited many times in Taiwan, Japan, the United States, Indonesia and other countries.

Cheng believes an artist should form a kind of partnership with his or her material, which is similar to the relationship between husband and wife. It needs mutual support, communication, tolerance, compromise, and cooperation. That's why he thinks an artist should spend more time to discover the character and the beauty of the material.

Only when an artwork highlights and transforms the uniqueness of the media can it become heart-warming and affecting.

作品 Artworks