ABOUT THE WORK

Wish Willow ​

Wish Willow explores the tension between the fabricated and the living: how a constructed system can still feel soft, attentive, and emotionally present. It’s a fragment that implies a whole—inviting viewers to imagine the tree beyond the wall, and to consider what it means for a machine to hold something as human as a wish.

Why Willow?

Wish Willow explores the tension between the mechanical and the living. The branch does not attempt to imitate bark or natural texture; instead, it embraces a clean, fabricated aesthetic. Its life-like motion comes from engineered tension—cables, rods, and controlled force—rather than organic growth. I am interested in how something visibly constructed can still feel attentive, responsive, and emotionally present.
The willow tree holds particular meaning for me. Growing up in Beijing, willow trees were deeply embedded in the cultural landscape—lined along lakes, rivers, and historical sites. They are associated with softness, resilience, memory, and quiet presence. The long hanging branches and drifting leaves create a sense of calm movement that feels both intimate and expansive. By abstracting the willow into a white, mechanical fragment, I am translating a personal cultural memory into a contemporary, constructed form.
The oversized paper leaves extend this connection. Rather than natural foliage, they are sheets of white paper marked with Chinese calligraphy—fragments of language suspended in space. As the branch moves, the writing shifts and overlaps, turning static text into kinetic expression. The project becomes a space where wish-making, cultural memory, and machine motion intersect. The branch does not simply move; it animates language.
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By focusing on a single branch instead of a full tree, I emphasize implication over spectacle. The viewer is invited to imagine the rest of the tree beyond the wall. This fragment becomes both sculpture and suggestion—an engineered organism that exists between object and presence.

​How ​Willow?

​The branch is built around a tendon-driven spine structure. A flexible backbone rod runs through a series of custom “vertebra” rings that guide tension lines offset from the center. When motors pull these tendons, the offset force creates controlled bending along the length of the spine. This system distributes motion smoothly, avoiding the rigid, hinge-like feel of a traditional robotic arm.

The mechanical components are housed within a wall-mounted plate that supports the cantilevered branch. An Arduino-based control system drives the motors and regulates motion behaviors such as slow sway and gradual settling. The outer form is designed in CAD and fabricated in segments, creating a smooth, white, manufactured surface that contrasts with the softness of the hanging paper leaves.

The project combines digital modeling, mechanical prototyping, and physical fabrication. By pairing precise engineering with delicate cultural materials, Wish Willow reflects on how memory and identity can be translated into constructed systems.