Xiong Wenyun's 'Moving Rainbows' Installation Transforms Tibetan Landscapes with Color

Xiong Wenyun's project 'Moving Rainbows' began in 1998, inspired by her travels to Tibet, where she used colored plastic tarpaulins to cover trucks and roadside cabin doorways along the Sichuan and Qinghai-Tibetan highways, creating a vibrant procession. The color sequence—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple—mirrored that of Tibetan prayer flags, which Tibetans associate with rainbows as 'god's ladders.' Xiong, a graduate of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts who researched color in Japan, documented the installations with photography and video, showcased in an exhibition at Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Beijing from June 21 to August 2, 2008. The work involved local Tibetan communities, including officials in departure ceremonies and monks kowtowing to Lhasa, and drew inspiration from the colorful clothing of minority peoples. Xiong described the color order as 'the most pure form of the universe,' emphasizing its spiritual and environmental dimensions. While the project was ecological in intent, focusing on transforming landscapes like rocks and timber-cut trees, it coincided with Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games and concerns over Tibet-related protests, potentially highlighting cultural colonization. The artist's approach blended public art with a humble, process-oriented engagement, capturing the sublime interaction between people and the mountainous terrain.