In the summer of 2026, a 7-meter-tall giant titanium sculpture, titled *Birth*, stood in the outdoor plaza of the Long Museum in Shanghai. Weighing 4.6 tons, it was meticulously assembled from 5,500 titanium components, 1,500 aluminum alloy parts, and nearly 20,000 stainless steel screws. 725 gears and 922 human figures were inlaid within, their surfaces displaying subtle gradients of yellow, red, and blue.
This was not an industrial exhibition; it was the work of Chinese artist Chen Shiying.
Chen Shiying, 70 years old this year, was previously known for his jewelry carving-he was the first Chinese jewelry artist ever invited to exhibit at the Paris Biennale des Antiquaires. But this time, he presented a surprising series of works: three giant titanium sculptures, reaching heights of 7, 8, and 10 meters, completing a "tale of two cities" across Eurasia, from their debut at the Venice Biennale to the Long Museum in Shanghai.
Each sculpture was assembled from thousands of titanium components and nearly 20,000 screws. Stepping inside one of the sculptures, light is repeatedly refracted, split, and recombined, constantly shifting and changing. This "magic" comes from Chen Shiying's unique "Shiying Cut," created in 1987-a holographic carving method combining precisely calculated angles with 360-degree intaglio carving. Now, he has magnified the microscopic wonders used in jewelry carving into an entire sculpture that people can walk into.
"I construct the grand from the microscopic," Chen Shiying says. "Stars are formed from particles, mountains and rivers are gathered from dust, and life grows from cells."
Few people notice that the nearly 20,000 screws supporting the 7-meter-tall behemoth are essentially no different from those we produce daily in a workshop-except they are screwed into an art museum, becoming part of a work of art. Fasteners are rarely seen, but without them, even the grandest concept is just a collection of scattered parts.
Some titanium screws connect machinery; some titanium screws connect imagination.
