Contemporary artists are becoming increasingly experimental in their media choices, with large-scale installation artists pushing this innovation further by incorporating industrial materials to harmonise their works with surrounding architecture. Installed in 2025 for the Lighting Xi’an Festival in China, Divided is an immersive artwork by Spanish artist SpY, initially created as part of his Earth trilogy. Each work has been commissioned for limited-duration installations in cities worldwide, with every site offering a fresh perspective on themes of unity, temporality, and urban transformation.

**SpY, Installation View of *Divided* (2025) in Xi’an, China. Photo courtesy of SpY.**

SpY’s Earth series is a trilogy of contemporary works, including Terra, Divided, and Confronted. Individually exhibited in cities including Athens, Madrid, Riyadh, and Ghent, the works demonstrate how their ephemeral presence can transform any environment, rather than tying interpretation down to a single location. Having premiered in Athens in 2022, Divided now appears in Xi’an against a backdrop of skyscrapers, its red artificial light transforming the previously monotonous architecture into an embodied space of reflection. This monumental work reconfigures the urban ecosystem into a disorienting, immersive environment, evoking emotional responses associated with geopolitical division and social fragmentation.

Positioned directly in front of the Xi’an Tree—a renowned landmark and meeting point within the Xi’an Centre Culture Business District—Divided engages directly with a city defined both by ancient heritage and industrial modernisation. Xi’an, historically the starting point of the Silk Road and a former imperial capital, now juxtaposes historic landmarks with soaring skyscrapers, creating a layered urban environment that balances tradition and innovation. The Xi’an Tree comprises 56 levels designed to mimic decorative fauna, with garden terraces offering an urban escape. In contrast, SpY employs industrial materials to construct a temporary form that references the scaffolding of urban construction, suggesting a state of continual becoming; the work is as much a process as it is a fixed object. The 25-metre-high framework not only supports the structure but also functions as a cage. Internal geometric divisions echo its solidarity, mirroring the verticality of the surrounding architecture and reinforcing a sense of internal harmony. A luminous red sphere is enclosed at its centre.

This smooth, circular form contrasts with the thin skeletal framework, split in half by a passage cutting through the installation, giving the work its name. The two identical hemispheres radiate red light onto the surrounding buildings, asserting a commanding presence within the urban space. Red light operates as a recurring motif in SpY’s practice, functioning as both an emotional and symbolic element through which the world is reimagined, with suggestions of passion or danger, depending on the viewer’s emotional state. The light is entirely disorienting, heightening the senses and transforming one’s perception of scale and distance.

“The work does not merely occupy a site; it redefines it, turning it into an immersive experience in which perception, scale, and the body becomes the fundamental materials of the proposal.” – SpY

The apparition of a complete sphere, the hemispheres once symbolised the Earth and a sense of unity. From afar, some viewers may still imagine the form as whole, while others focus on the tension between division and its prior cohesion. Now split in two, the work becomes a meditation on separation, resonating with human relationships and our connection with the Earth. With no scaffolding connecting the two halves, the hemispheres may appear drawn toward one another, seeking to become whole again; others may perceive them a pulling apart, an embracing of deliberate separation. Together, they exist as a vibrant ball of energy, deeply embedded within the city and functioning as its temporary heart.

The installation’s split hemispheres equally resonate with the city’s dualities: unity and division, permanence and ephemerality. By inserting a monumental, yet temporary, form into this dynamic space, SpY transforms the familiar urban landscape into an unknown, immersive environment, inviting viewers to navigate both the artwork and the city in novel and reflective ways.

The central walkway invites passers-by to move through the illuminated passage, transforming spectators into participants and making embodiment integral to the artwork. As viewers enter the installation, their relationship to space shifts: perception becomes unstable, and the body emerges as a measure against the monumental form. Though the structure itself remains fixed, each viewer’s experience is unique, creating evolving dialogues between artist, audience, and artwork.

Attracting viewers of all ages, the journey through Divided is wholly subjective. Some pause to reflect and deeply engage with the work, while others find it overwhelming and move through it quickly. Interpretation is also shaped by time: during daylight hours, the installation’s visual impact is subdued, whereas at night it intensifies, surpassing the illumination of surrounding skyscrapers. In this state, the work shifts away from the artificiality of the built environment, instead echoing the celestial presence of stars and planets.

“The human body thus becomes a measure, confronted with a form that, although fragmented, retains a monumental and imposing presence.” – SpY

The Lighting Xi’an Festival is an annual event that transforms the city into a temporary landscape of light, colour, and immersive public art. Attracting visitors from across China and beyond, the festival combines contemporary art, technology, and urban space, celebrating innovation and Chinese cultural heritage. In this context, SpY’s Divided is part of a broader programme that reimagines the city after dark, using light not only as a visual spectacle but also as a medium for reflection and spatial transformation. The festival’s emphasis on ephemeral, large-scale works aligns with the artist’s interest in temporality and urban engagement, creating an ideal setting for an installation that is both monumental and fleeting. This combination of festivity and locality provides the perfect platform for Divided, generating widespread interest in both the artist and the artwork, whilst reflecting the festival’s priorities. It will be interesting to see where Terra, Divided, and Confronted are installed next, how each location reshapes the meaning behind each individual work, as well as the overall experience of the series.

Sophie Harris

En Plein Air Editor, MADE IN BED

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