Joanne Ning / 林心

I am from Hong Kong and based in Glasgow.

My artistic quest started with a desire to understand my own Chinese name ‘心 (xin / heart)’, and what it means to carry and express my heart, existentially. I found my heart captivated by the visceral expression of volcanoes in the movie ‘Fire of Love (2022)’ by Sara Dosa, where two volcanologists spend their married lives chasing erupting volcanoes in curiosity and passion. Following their footsteps, I journeyed to Iceland, touched freshly erupted volcanic rocks with my own hands, and documented my heartbeats in resonance with the living landscape. Holding the warm volcanic rocks in my palms, I wondered if I could make the rocks sing, the same way my heart sang as I hiked up the volcano. I felt as if I was lava as I stood on the volcano – full of energy, heat, and life.

My body of work is a holistic response to this intimate and grandiose liveliness I have experienced. It is a composition of a volcanic rock-like ocarina instrumental sculpture and a documentation of me playing the instrument echoing to different sites (‘My Heart, My Touch, My Breath (2026)’); a thermal-image projection that attempts to touch hearts (‘Thermal Encounter (2026)’); touchable sculptures including volcanic rocks and body cast ceramics (‘Igneous Bodies (2026)’), and sound waves of my heartbeat (‘Accelerated Heartbeat: Hike to Fagradalsfjall Volcano (2026)’). Through my work I invite my audience to draw closer to this source of light and warmth of the heart.