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'In any choice we make in life we leave something of ourselves behind and something else steps forward. Some dilemmas are painful and some are not so painful. The response to this story is one about wholeness – and it has to come from your heart. It’s about you being able to embrace the ten thousand things inside of you.'LINDY LEE
The National Gallery has commissioned 100 Flowers Falling, a new projection and sound-based work by Lindy Lee, to illuminate the building’s exterior for the 2025 Enlighten Festival.
Cosmic imagery, colour, and ancient Chinese symbolism will merge across the National Gallery, celebrating both the transience of individual histories and their connection to a greater whole.
The projection is accompanied by an original score by Australian composer Lawrence English.
100 Flowers Falling brings to life the story of The True Ch’ien, an ancient kōan that explores the idea of embracing our humanity in all its complexity. A kōan is a Zen Buddhist teaching in the form of an open question, story or statement that Zen students meditate on to work through the paradoxes of existence.
The True Chi’en is a story about how to be true to oneself in the midst of a dilemma. It follows the life of a young woman and her deep inner conflict, between choosing who she loves and her duty as a daughter to her family. Through the story of The True Ch’ien we are invited to think about the role of choices in our lives.
Viewer advice: Please be aware this work of art contains flashing lights and scenes depicting fire. Viewer discretion is advised.
To celebrate the display of 100 Flowers Falling, the National Gallery will also open late until 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays during Enlighten, providing visitors a chance to experience current exhibitions including Ethel Carrick and Anne Dangar after hours before the illuminations begin.
*The story
The True Ch’ien
Once upon a time in the Middle Kingdom, there lived a father with a young daughter called Chi’en. He saw that she was very lonely and adopted an orphaned boy, who was a distant cousin, Huang, to be her companion. Chi’en and Huang grew up together, and as their relationship blossomed, they grew to love each other deeply. The father saw how well they played together and joked, ‘You two should marry someday; you are so well-suited’. The couple took this to heart and believed they were betrothed. When Chi’en came of age, having forgotten his jest, her father found her a husband. Heartbroken, Huang fled the village as he could not see his love with another man. Torn between the two men in her life, Chi’en defied her father and ran away to join Huang in a neighbouring village. The two married, had two children, and lived a very happy life.
Although happily married, Chi’en awoke one day, five years later, heavy with the weight of guilt, knowing how much heartbreak she had caused her father. She turned to her husband and said, ‘Husband, I think we must return home. My father’s heart must be broken’. Her husband, a man of great understanding and compassion, responded, ‘I knew this day would come. Let us make the journey together’. And so, they made their way down the river to their home village.
Upon arrival, Huang, ever considerate, said to Chi’en, ‘Let me go to your father’s house first. He may be very angry, and I would rather face his wrath than you’. Chi’en agreed, and Huang made his way to the house. When the door opened, instead of the expected fury, her father greeted him warmly. ‘Huang, my nephew, I’m so glad to see you. The night you left, Chi’en’s heart broke, and for the last five years, she’s been lying in bed, hovering somewhere between life and death. She’s barely alive now, but perhaps with your return, she might awaken.’
Perplexed by this, Huang followed his father-in-law into the room where Chi’en lay. She looked ghostly pale, alive but barely so. Huang, who had spent five years with Chi’en building a life in a neighbouring village, was struck by confusion. He said, ‘I do not understand. I married Chi’en, and in these five years, we have lived so happily. You, my father, have two beautiful grandchildren. Come and see your beloved daughter by the river’.
The father agreed, and they made their way to the riverbank. As they approached, Chi’en, who had been waiting by the river, stirred restlessly. Then, something miraculous happened: the Chi’en who had been languishing in bed for five years, her spirit on the brink of extinction, rose for the first time. The two Chi’ens—one weak and fading, the other full of life—met and embraced.
Which of them is the true Chi’en?
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
