Fence — Echo Youyi Yan

You May Touch the Fence, 2025

In her most recent works, she extends the idea of domestication beyond the sculptural object to the viewer’s own body. She constructs physical fences that function as both sculptural and curatorial devices. These fences choreograph movement through the exhibition space—guiding, constraining, and taming the act of looking itself.

Titled You May Touch the Fence, the installation begins with a directory sign bearing the same phrase. The fences partition the space, compelling visitors to crawl, bend, or peer through openings to glimpse the sculptures within. Through these gestures, the body is choreographed into acts of obedience and curiosity. The fence becomes more than a boundary; it operates as a curatorial agent that dictates vision and movement. The decision to enter, to cross, or to remain outside becomes an act of voluntary domestication—an acknowledgment that power can seduce as much as it restrains.