Patrik Proško

**Feng Shui** – mirror anamorphic site-specific installation, 10 × 3 × 3 m, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong SAR, China *Feng shui* (風水, literally *”wind and water”*) is a traditional Chinese philosophy that has sought for centuries to create harmony between people, architecture, and the surrounding landscape. It is based on the belief that *qi*—the vital life energy—flows through the environment and that its movement can be influenced by the shape of the landscape, the orientation of buildings, and the relationships between them. Historically, and still today, feng shui is applied throughout many parts of the Chinese world in the design of houses, bridges, temples, and even entire cities. In Hong Kong, it continues to shape the architecture of certain buildings, including the characteristic openings found in skyscrapers and residential complexes. According to feng shui, these openings preserve a symbolic pathway through which energy can flow between the mountains and the sea. I will share a few examples of these buildings in the first comments. Anamorphosis and feng shui share a common principle. Both reveal their true meaning only once we understand how they are meant to be read. Without that understanding, we perceive only their form. Once we grasp their underlying principles, their deeper nature begins to emerge. This is why I chose anamorphosis as the artistic language of the project. Just as feng shui does not perceive buildings as isolated objects but as elements within a larger spatial relationship, this installation is not defined by the individual mirrors themselves, but by the way they are arranged. Its meaning appears only from a single viewing point, where all the fragments merge into one image. Reflection is one of Hong Kong’s most distinctive visual motifs. The glass façades of its skyscrapers reflect one another, the city mirrors itself in rain-soaked streets during the monsoon season, and on the surface of the sea beside which it stands. Each mirror captures real fragments of Hong Kong and assembles them into a new spatial experience, where different perspectives intertwine with reality, just as the many layers of Hong Kong itself overlap. The visual focal point of the installation is a bright square created by the reflection of the sky in a single tilted mirror. It refers to the architectural openings that, according to the philosophy of feng shui, preserve the symbolic path through which energy flows between the mountains and the sea.