Li Xinmo chose Yicang as the space for her work. The granary was historically used to store grain during famine times. Adjacent to the warehouse was a small courtyard that resembled a classical southern courtyard with green bricks, gray tiles, high walls, and winding paths overgrown with weeds. Corrugated pillars slanted across the path. Inside, near the wall, were two rectangular stone platforms covered in dark red paint, now mottled with age. The courtyard resembled a theater, a space imbued with context and poetry, holding the memories and traces of history and time. A gloomy and dark atmosphere pervaded the courtyard, reminiscent of a cemetery.
On one side of the courtyard was a pile of red bricks, and on the other side, black bricks. She held a dark brown pot in her hand. The pot, placed beside an old water well, caught her attention with its dark color, heavy shape, and silence. It seemed very deep and contained many secrets. She imagined it held the souls of the dead, as if she could hear their sobs. This jar reminded her of Paul Celan's poem "The Scenery of Urns," which inspired her with endless reverie. Thus, the performance was initially named "Urn of Ashes."
In this performance, she used white rice, a symbol of grain, directly related to the history of land famine. White rice was placed into the dark brown jar. She held the jar and sprinkled the rice from it onto the path, the road, the pillars, and the table. From a distance, the rice appeared like white ashes. Accompanied by dark, atmospheric music, she poured the rice steadily, transforming the courtyard into what seemed like an early summer snowfall, evoking a sense of dreaminess and surrealism.
After sprinkling the rice, she walked barefoot to the red bricks and carried a pile of bricks on her back. In concentration camps and labor camps, carrying bricks was a form of hard labor, it was a form of punishment. She moved the pile of bricks onto the rectangular stone platform and arranged them word by word until the platform was full. Then, she carried the black bricks to the other side of the courtyard and placed them on another table, one by one.
Next, she took a black brick and a red brick, struck them against each other with force, and the bricks broke apart with a loud impact. She continued until all the bricks on the table were shattered. Exhausted, she placed the dark brown jar on a table and lay on another table with her back to the audience, as if lying on a snow bed. At this moment, thunder rolled, clouds gathered, and rain began to pour down.
