Jingmin Ren 任静敏 Completes Solar Longitude – Time Orbit at Bondi Sea Wall

Jingmin Ren 任静敏 with Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道 at Bondi Sea Wall, Sydney, 2026.

Public Art, Southern Hemisphere Seasonal Time and Cultural Astronomy

Source: Hong Kong News Agency
Published: 10 August 2026

On 7 August 2026, Sydney-based interdisciplinary artist and artist–researcher Jingmin Ren 任静敏 completed Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道, a large-scale public artwork at Bondi Sea Wall in Sydney.

Created over one month and covering more than ten square metres, the site-specific work was realised with the approval and support of Waverley Council. It brings together solar longitude, the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, Southern Hemisphere seasonal experience, Chinese calligraphy and the natural landscape of Bondi.

From 285° to 315°: Creating with Natural Time

Ren began painting at Bondi Sea Wall on 7 July 2026, shortly after Earth had passed aphelion. Within the work’s Southern Hemisphere seasonal reading, the creative period extended from approximately 285° to 315° of solar longitude—from Minor Cold through Major Cold to the beginning of spring.

The month-long movement of natural time overlapped with the transformation of the wall from an empty surface into a completed public artwork. Time was therefore not only represented as a subject; it actively participated in the work’s formation.

As Ren reflected after completing the project:

“Completed is a mural; continuing to move is time.”

Translating the Twenty-Four Solar Terms in the Southern Hemisphere

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms developed through the observation of the Sun’s annual movement and represent an important system of seasonal knowledge. In 2016, they were inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

At the visual centre of Solar Longitude – Time Orbit is the monumental Chinese calligraphic character 时, meaning “time.” Around it, Ren integrates the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, solar-longitude coordinates, Southern Hemisphere seasonal experience and elements of the Bondi coastal landscape.

The work does not alter the astronomical foundation of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms. Instead, it uses solar longitude as a shared coordinate through which Northern and Southern Hemisphere seasonal experiences can be compared.

The Earth–Sun geometry associated with a particular solar longitude remains the same, while the two hemispheres experience contrasting seasons and landscapes. This relationship between what is shared and what is different lies at the centre of the project.

Ren summarises the concept through the statement:

“The same solar longitude. Different seasons. Different landscapes. One shared rhythm.”

Although people live on different lands and carry different cultural experiences, humanity continues to share one Sun, one Earth and the common rhythms of nature.

A Cross-Cultural Dialogue on Bondi Sea Wall

Bondi Sea Wall is not simply the physical surface supporting the artwork. It is also a public meeting place where cultural knowledge can enter everyday life.

Throughout the outdoor painting process, the work developed in direct contact with Bondi’s sunlight, wind, weather, waves and passing community. Visitors and local residents stopped to observe the mural, ask about the Twenty-Four Solar Terms and discuss the large Chinese character at its centre.

These spontaneous encounters became part of the life of the artwork. Through public art, ancient Chinese observations of solar movement and seasonal time entered into conversation with contemporary Australian coastal experience.

The project consequently extends beyond individual artistic expression, creating a living dialogue between Chinese cultural knowledge, the Australian environment and Sydney’s multicultural community.

Community Recognition and Media Attention

The development and completion of the artwork received sustained interest from members of the community and the public cultural sector.

Virginia Gordon AM described the mural as a complex and thought-provoking work and thanked Ren for bringing a meaningful gift to the community.

Ren expressed her appreciation to Waverley Council, the Bondi Pavilion arts team, Virginia Gordon AM, and the family members, friends and community participants who supported the project throughout its creation.

On the day of completion, SBS Mandarin visited Bondi Sea Wall to interview Ren and document the finished work.

From Public Artwork to Artistic Research

Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道 forms part of Ren’s continuing artistic research into solar longitude, seasonal knowledge, place and cultural perspectives.

The project has subsequently developed through her investigation of Southern Hemisphere seasonal-phase translation and the concept of Spatial Time—an approach examining how the same astronomical coordinate may be experienced differently across hemispheres, cultures and geographic locations.

The completed artwork is currently presented to the public at Bondi Sea Wall, inviting visitors to reconsider their relationship with time, season, nature and the shared movement of the Earth.

Read the original media report:
Hong Kong News Agency – 跨学科艺术家任静敏完成悉尼邦迪海堤大型公共壁画《太阳黄经－时间轨道》 →

Explore the project:
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道 →