(Il)legal Empire
Zheng Guogu is regarded as something of a legend in contemporary Chinese art. Not only has he created unique art objects, but he has also created a sustainable ecology initiative environment for contemporary art development. In 2004, he bought about two hectares of land in the suburb of the city of Yangjiang in southwest Guangdong province and started his Empire Time, a project initiated with a conceptual garden–esque space idea, and he is devoting his life to developing it during the process. Reflecting the computer game Age of Empires, Empire Time in reality integrates more complicated spatial modalities and social relations. It is not a fixed, viewable work enclosed within an interior space, but rather a project that extends into an even truer living space, which comprises the entire process of dwelling in a spatial location, from conceptual ideal to practical implementation to dayto-day living.