SOLAR LONGITUDE – TIME ORBIT

The Artwork

At the centre of the mural is the Chinese character 时 (Shí), meaning time, season, timing, and the rhythm through which life unfolds.

Encircling it is a 360-degree orbit representing the Sun's apparent annual movement along the ecliptic. Every 15 degrees corresponds to one of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms.

Rather than depicting time as a linear calendar, the artwork presents it as a continuous cycle—a living orbit of light, energy, ecology, memory and renewal.

The visual language combines Chinese calligraphy and seal carving with the distinctive landscape of Bondi Beach, including coastal light, ocean waves, migrating whales and dolphins, golden wattle and jacaranda, expressing how astronomical time becomes lived experience within a particular place.

Why Solar Longitude?

Solar Longitude is the astronomical measure of the Sun's apparent annual position along the ecliptic.

In the traditional Chinese calendar, the year is divided into twenty-four equal segments of 15 degrees, known as the Twenty-Four Solar Terms (二十四节气). More than a calendar, this system records centuries of observation linking the Sun's movement with climate, ecology, agriculture and everyday life.

The artwork returns attention to the underlying astronomical framework from which these seasonal observations emerged.

Why Bondi?

Bondi Beach is not simply the setting for this artwork—it is its observatory.

Located at 33°53′ South, Bondi experiences the same Solar Longitude as every other place on Earth, yet expresses it through entirely different seasonal rhythms.

Here, time is revealed through changing coastal light, ocean colours, flowering plants, whale migration, winds, tides and human activity.

The mural transforms Bondi into a place where astronomy, ecology, community and public art converge.

Shared Observations of Nature

Across cultures, people have long looked to the sky to understand the passing of time.

The Chinese Twenty-Four Solar Terms represent one of humanity's enduring systems of seasonal observation, connecting the Sun's annual movement with the rhythms of the natural world.

Here in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have developed sophisticated seasonal knowledge over tens of thousands of years through careful observation of Country, including plants, animals, stars, weather, tides and ecological change.

This artwork respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of this land and their continuing knowledge of Country and seasonal cycles.

Rather than comparing knowledge systems, the work recognises that different cultures have observed the same natural world through different relationships with place.

Bondi becomes a meeting point where astronomy, ecology, culture and community intersect beneath one shared sky.

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms

The circular Chinese inscriptions represent the Twenty-Four Solar Terms (二十四节气), a traditional Chinese knowledge system based on the Sun's annual movement through 360 degrees of Solar Longitude.

Recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Twenty-Four Solar Terms preserve centuries of accumulated knowledge connecting astronomy, ecology, agriculture and seasonal change.

This artwork honours that cultural heritage while acknowledging that many cultures have developed their own sophisticated understandings of seasonal rhythms.

Rather than transferring the Twenty-Four Solar Terms directly onto a Southern Hemisphere calendar, the artwork reinterprets them through the ecology, light and seasonal experience of Bondi Beach, creating a dialogue between ancient knowledge, contemporary place and universal astronomical cycles.

Southern Hemisphere Interpretation

The same Solar Longitude does not produce the same season everywhere on Earth.

When the Northern Hemisphere experiences spring, the Southern Hemisphere experiences autumn. Yet the Earth occupies the same position in its orbit around the Sun.

This artwork explores what it means to interpret an ancient seasonal system from the Southern Hemisphere.

Without altering the astronomical framework, it offers a new visual language for understanding time—one that brings together astronomy, ecology, culture and public art while reminding us that beneath our diverse landscapes and traditions, we all inhabit the same planet, moving through the same cosmic rhythm.

Research and Publication

This project extends Jingmin Ren’s ongoing research into the relationship between Solar Longitude, the Twenty-Four Solar Terms and Southern Hemisphere seasonal experience.

The research article “The Same Solar Longitude, Different Seasons: A Southern Hemisphere Interpretation of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms” explores how traditional time systems can be reimagined through contemporary art, astronomy and place-based observation.

Read the Research: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20628685

More Works

Solar Longitude is part of Jingmin Ren’s wider artistic exploration of time, energy, light, spirit and cultural connection.

Explore more related projects:

• YUANBOUNDLESS™

• XINYIN LIUNIAN®

• Bondi Series

• Sydney Morning

‍ ‍https://www.jingminren.com/

About the Artist

Jingmin Ren is a Sydney-based multidisciplinary artist whose work has been exhibited internationally across Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and China, and recognised through international art awards. Her practice combines painting, Chinese calligraphy, seal carving and public art to explore the relationship between time, nature, astronomy and cultural connection. Her work brings together Eastern philosophy, contemporary visual language, natural observation and cross-cultural dialogue, creating site-specific artworks that connect people, place and the natural world.