Guardians of Time

With Guardians of Time, Shanghai-born artist and designerJiang Qiong Er invites the public of musée Guimet to journey across five reinvented iconic spaces.

For Origin, the façade of the building at Place d’Iéna is entirely covered in red tulle, adorning the museum with Chinese culture’s auspicious colours, evoking vitality and prosperity, and creating a bridge between past and present. Twelve mythical creatures, inspired by legendary Chinese figures appear at the top of the Guimet’s notable rotunda and on the windows of the façade, as though guarding these modern-day, miniature grottoes.

The entrance hall becomes the stage for Initiation. The pillars of the entrance are covered in different shades of the propitiatory colour red, each with its distinct poetic resonance in China.

As they enter the historic library on the first floor, visitors are immersed in a visual and sound installation, The Twelve Calls. Each of the twelve mythical creatures from the façade reappears in bronze, the whole forming a circle: Authenticity, Fraternity, Inclusion, Peace, Equality, Benevolence, Time, Exploration, Bravery, Nature, Wisdom and Freedom.

On the roof garden, Her Voice – Bravery is a gigantic net suspended above the rooftop of the museum, on which the collective poetic words of sixty Chinese women are embroidered, using a new “women’s scripture” inspired by nu shu. Long ago, nu shu was the only scripture in the world created and used only by women.

The journey concludes in the rotunda on the fourth floor, which has been transformed into a modern cave, titled Introspection. Inside the dome is a scented partition made up of 5,000 bricks of Pu’er tea. Stones have been placed to invoke a mineral garden in the centre, capturing the creative energy of the cave.

The dome becomes a space for meditation, but also for creation in connection with time, echoing the passing of the seasons through tea and incense ceremonies, Chinese music and opera, poetry readings and gatherings.

Jiang Qiong Er is a multidisciplinary Shanghai-born artist who blends art and design. After graduating from Tongji University with a degree in Art & Design, she pursued her interest in French culture and attended the Decorative Arts School in Paris. With Hermès, she founded the lifestyle brand Shang Xia, dedicated to creating objects that showcase Asian craftsmanship through contemporary designs. In parallel, she has led a very productive career as an artist. Jiang Qiong er draws inspiration from traditional Chinese art which she reinterprets with resolutely contemporary designs, creating works that transcend cultural barriers. Some of her work is now in the permanent collections of prestigious museums such as the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Museum of Decorative Arts.

The event podcast: Discover Guardians of time with Jiang Qiong Er

Journey through the 5 monumental installations specially imagined for the museum, from its facade to the rotunda on the fourth floor.

Spot the audio signage and scan the QR codes.

A podcast by Studio Nova and musée Guimet

Cover image © Frédéric Berthet