"Karesansui" 

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You can think of a Golden Egg as an oversized fortune cookie – and to take the opportunity to clarify a myth, fortune cookies are never part of the authentic Chinese cuisine. Golden eggs are used in many occasions in China: the launch of a movie, opening of a factory, laying down the first stone of a building, marriage ceremony, birth ceremony, any ceremony, rocket launch… you get the picture. There are sometimes gift vouchers in some of the Golden eggs, each of which can be redeemed for specific gifts. When the eggs are cracked open, the lucky ones will get the corresponding gifts. But more often people only go after the pleasure of cracking open these eggs, especially when such pleasure is enveloped in inherently cheap goods with a seemingly glamorous and beautiful appearance.

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                               "Karesansui"-The traditional Japanese landscape garden showing the concept of Impermenance

 

There is a "Golden egg village" in Shandong Province in North China. The residents of the village have only one career – making the Golden eggs, and they make a good living out of this career. These Golden eggs from Lin Yi Golden eggs village in Shandong cost 40 pounds to buy and 600 pounds to ship over, even though they have no real use in London. They are made with inferior workmanship, the gold paint is not evenly spread, there are cracks in the eggs, and half of the eggs were already broken when they arrived in London. Fortunately being broken does not make too much of a difference.

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These eggs of varying sizes but the same shape of goldness are made to be destroyed. Being broken is the black mark as well as the splendour or the entire purpose of their existence. They are being named after and displayed in the form of "Karesansui", or the "dry landscape" garden, as a fusion of defect and regret. They are the cheesy contemporary version of "Karesansui". They are a parable. They are the epitome of this era. There is not any practical significance of politics, history, cultural conflict, environment, science or society.

 

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                                  Using trigger signal from FM radio to consistently hammer the eggs and they would be broken and replaced to be broken again

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