14/7/2024
Jialin Wu’s Eternal Trace 2 is a contemplative video work that invites viewers to reconsider the fragile relationship between humans and the environment in the anthropocene era. Through a meditative loop of flushing and repetition, the piece reflects on the ways we perceive ourselves and negotiate our place in a world undergoing rapid ecological transformations.
The work is a visual and sensory exploration of blindness and awakening. Wu presents the paradox of human choice: to remain willfully blind to environmental degradation or to confront and reconnect with the consequences of our existence. The video’s repetitive motion echoes the cycles of denial and revelation, evoking a cathartic release that both unsettles and heals. In this process, Eternal Trace 2 becomes more than a passive observation; it is an active reengagement with the world, urging a reckoning with our impact and responsibility.
Wu’s practice often blurs the boundaries between video, installation, and environmental discourse, drawing the audience into immersive experiences that challenge complacency. This is evident also in her 2022 work POD: Oppossum Shrimps, a multi-sensory installation that examines the overlooked microcosms of aquatic life and their intricate symbiosis with human existence. Through layered visuals and spatial arrangements, POD articulates a narrative of coexistence and the delicate traces left behind by all life forms in changing ecosystems.
Both works exemplify Wu’s commitment to ecological awareness and her poetic interrogation of identity and place in a transforming world. Her artistry harnesses repetition, sensory engagement, and subtle narrative disruption to craft immersive experiences that resonate deeply with contemporary concerns around sustainability and belonging.
Jialin Wu (b. 2000) is a London-based multimedia artist whose research-driven practice bridges moving image, sound, and interactive installation. Her artistic inquiry centers on contemporary museography, death studies, and transmedia storytelling. Wu constructs fragmented, speculative environments that interweave archival logic with ecological metaphors, exploring systems of proliferation, decay, and ontological instability.
Since 2022, Wu’s focus has deepened around ecological speculation and institutional critique, envisioning post-anthropocene futures and reimagining cultural authority through poetic, open-ended narratives. Her projects invite audiences to engage intuitively with fluctuating logics of decay and renewal, revealing how memory, materiality, and presence circulate in continuous transformation.