SOLAR LONGITUDE – TIME ORBIT
太阳黄经－时间轨道
Bondi Sea Wall · Sydney · 2026
The Same Solar Longitude.
Different Seasons.
Different Landscapes.
One Shared Rhythm.
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道, by Jingmin Ren 任静敏, Bondi Sea Wall, Sydney, 2026.
A site-specific public artwork connecting Solar Longitude, Southern Hemisphere seasonal experience, local landscape and cultural expression.
悉尼邦迪海堤现场公共艺术作品，以太阳黄经连接南半球季节体验、地方景观与文化表达。
Photograph / 摄影: Jingmin Ren 任静敏.
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit is a public artwork and artistic research project created by interdisciplinary artist and artist–researcher Jingmin Ren (任静敏) at Bondi Sea Wall, Sydney, in 2026.
Drawing on Solar Longitude (太阳黄经) and the Twenty-Four Solar Terms (二十四节气), the work explores how the same astronomical cycle is experienced differently across hemispheres, seasons, landscapes and cultures.
Through Chinese calligraphy, painting and observations of Bondi’s light, ocean and seasonal ecology, the work transforms astronomical time into a lived experience of place — revealing difference while returning to a deeper idea of connection:
One Earth. One Sun. One Shared Rhythm.
THE QUESTION
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE CHANGE THE POINT OF VIEW?
For centuries, many systems connecting astronomical observation with seasonal knowledge have been developed and interpreted through the experience of the Northern Hemisphere.
Yet we share one Earth and one Sun.
Because the Earth’s axis is tilted by approximately 23.4°, the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience opposite seasonal phases as the Earth travels around the Sun. The astronomical cycle is shared, but the seasons are different.
The Twenty-Four Solar Terms (二十四节气) developed through observations of the Sun and seasonal change in the mid-latitudes of China. Bondi, Sydney, at approximately 33.9°S, offers a compelling Southern Hemisphere point of comparison.
This raises a simple question:
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE TWENTY-FOUR SOLAR TERMS ARE VIEWED FROM THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE?
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道 responds to this question through art.
THE ARTWORK
At the centre of Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道 is the Chinese character 时 (Shí) — meaning time, season and timing. It forms both the visual and conceptual centre of the work, connecting astronomical time with cultural understandings of time and seasonal change.
Surrounding 时 is a 360-degree orbital structure, marked at 15-degree intervals of Solar Longitude (太阳黄经) and corresponding to the Twenty-Four Solar Terms (二十四节气).
The artwork then shifts the point of view to the Southern Hemisphere. The astronomical coordinates of Solar Longitude remain unchanged, while the work reinterprets their seasonal reading from the perspective of Bondi, Sydney. Within this Southern Hemisphere seasonal reading, the September equinox — spring in the Southern Hemisphere — serves as the artwork’s seasonal 0° reference, and the seasonal cycle is presented clockwise, offering a visual reorientation from the familiar Northern Hemisphere representations.
The astronomical coordinate has not changed. The point of view has.
Through this shift, the artwork asks us to see a familiar system differently — from another hemisphere, another season and another place.
SAME SUN · SAME SOLAR LONGITUDE · DIFFERENT SEASONAL READING
WHY BONDI?
Bondi Beach is not simply the location of the artwork — it is an observation point and a place of encounter.
Located at approximately 33.53°S, Bondi offers a distinctive Southern Hemisphere perspective from which seasonal change can be directly observed and experienced.
Here, seasonal change becomes visible through the coastal environment — sunlight and shadow, ocean conditions, migrating whales and dolphins, golden wattle, jacaranda, and the rhythms of coastal life. These local observations become part of the visual language of Solar Longitude – Time Orbit.
Bondi is also one of Australia’s most recognised public destinations — a place where nature, everyday life, tourism, culture and art intersect. At the Bondi Sea Wall, the artwork exists within this shared environment, encountered by local residents and visitors from around the world.
In this way, Bondi becomes more than a setting. It becomes a place from which to observe the Sun, experience seasonal change, and connect astronomical time with lived experience.
ONE SUN SETS THE RHYTHM.
BONDI REVEALS A DIFFERENT SEASON.
ART CONNECTS TIME, PLACE AND CULTURE.
TIME · SEASON · CULTURE
At the heart of Solar Longitude – Time Orbit are three interconnected ideas: Solar Longitude (太阳黄经), the Twenty-Four Solar Terms (二十四节气), and 时 (Shí).
Solar Longitude provides the astronomical framework, measuring the Sun’s apparent annual position along the ecliptic through 360 degrees. The Twenty-Four Solar Terms divide this cycle into 24 intervals of 15 degrees, connecting astronomical observation with seasonal change, agriculture and human life. This traditional Chinese knowledge system is recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
At the centre of the artwork is 时 (Shí) — meaning time, season and timing. It brings astronomical measurement into a human and cultural understanding of time: not only where we are in the cycle, but how that moment is experienced and understood.
Across cultures and places, people have developed different ways of observing and understanding seasonal change. In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander seasonal knowledge reflects deep, place-based understandings of relationships between land, weather, plants, animals and seasonal cycles.
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit recognises these as distinct knowledge systems shaped by different places and cultures. Rather than treating them as interchangeable, the work considers how people in different places observe, understand and experience seasonal change in relation to their own environments.
Through contemporary art, the project asks how a shared astronomical cycle can be encountered through different seasonal, ecological and cultural perspectives.
ONE SUN. DIFFERENT PLACES. DIFFERENT WAYS OF READING TIME.
RESEARCH · ARTWORK · NEW RESEARCH
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit began with artistic research into Solar Longitude, the Twenty-Four Solar Terms and the experience of seasonal time in the Southern Hemisphere.
This research moved from ideas and observation into public space through the Bondi Sea Wall artwork. But the artwork was not the end of the research. As it was created and experienced in place, Bondi’s changing light, seasons, ecology and encounters with the public became part of the inquiry itself.
In this way, research and artistic practice continue to inform one another — research leads to artwork, while the artwork generates new observations, new questions and new directions for research and creation.
This ongoing inquiry is documented in:
THE SAME SOLAR LONGITUDE, DIFFERENT SEASONS
A Southern Hemisphere Interpretation of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms
Jingmin Ren · 2026
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22018896
READ THE RESEARCH →
RESEARCH BECOMES ART. ART OPENS NEW QUESTIONS. THE INQUIRY CONTINUES.
SPATIAL TIME · YUAN BOUNDLESS™
The questions opened by Solar Longitude – Time Orbit continue beyond the Bondi Sea Wall.
Through ongoing research, Jingmin Ren is exploring Spatial Time — asking how astronomical and seasonal time might move beyond calendars, diagrams and two-dimensional images to become something that can be experienced through space, form and movement.
This inquiry is developing through painting, calligraphy, sculpture and installation, and intersects with YUAN BOUNDLESS™ | 元无界, Ren’s broader artistic exploration of relationships beyond fixed boundaries — between time and space, nature and humanity, place and culture.
Within this evolving practice, Solar Longitude provides an astronomical structure, while YUAN BOUNDLESS™ opens toward a wider question: how can different places, seasons and cultural perspectives remain distinct, yet be understood within one shared planetary system?
FROM TIME AS A COORDINATE, TO TIME AS EXPERIENCE, TO TIME IN SPACE.
DOCUMENTARY · THE STORY OF THE WORK
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit developed through research, observation and a month-long process of painting at Bondi Sea Wall.
The creation of the artwork unfolded within the solar cycle it explores — beginning at approximately 285° Solar Longitude (Xiaohan · 小寒 / Minor Cold) and reaching completion at approximately 315° (Lichun · 立春 / Beginning of Spring). While these names come from the traditional Twenty-Four Solar Terms, the work was created within Sydney’s Southern Hemisphere seasonal conditions, taking shape through changing light, weather and the coastal environment.
This short documentary follows the journey from research and artistic concept to the creation of the work in public space, bringing together the artist’s voice, the making process, Bondi’s coastal environment and encounters along the way.
Rather than presenting only the completed artwork, the film reveals how astronomical time, seasonal experience, place and culture came together through the process of making — and how the questions opened by the work continue beyond the wall.
THE ARTWORK IS COMPLETE. THE INQUIRY CONTINUES.
WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY →
直接 Embed YouTube video
让评审滚到这里马上看到视频画面和 Play ▶️，不用离开你的网站。
然后视频下面或者旁边再保留：
WATCH ON YOUTUBE →
PUBLIC ART · PUBLIC ENCOUNTERS
At Bondi Sea Wall, Solar Longitude – Time Orbit became part of a shared public landscape.
During the month-long process of creating the work on site, people stopped to watch, read, ask questions and share their own observations of the Sun, seasons and changing environment. These encounters continued after the artwork was completed.
For some viewers, the work offered a new way of understanding changes they had already noticed in everyday life — the movement of the Sun, shifting light, seasonal change and the rhythms of the coast.
In this way, the artwork became more than something to be viewed. It became a place for observation, curiosity and conversation, connecting astronomical ideas with everyday experience.
TO OBSERVE. TO QUESTION. TO CONNECT.
“ You are gifting us a complex work that everyone needs to consider and stand with it and be blessed to have it along the wall."
“ Congratulations on a staggering achievement and a complex contemplative gift to the community.”
—— Virginia Gordon AM
MEDIA · PUBLIC DIALOGUE
The public life of Solar Longitude – Time Orbit has continued beyond the Bondi Sea Wall through media coverage, interviews and wider cultural conversation.
The project has drawn attention to questions at the heart of the work — how the Twenty-Four Solar Terms might be understood from a Southern Hemisphere perspective, how astronomical knowledge relates to local seasonal experience, and how contemporary art can open dialogue across time, place, nature and culture.
Through these conversations, the artwork continues to travel beyond its physical location, reaching new audiences and opening new ways of thinking about time, season and place.
FROM A PUBLIC ARTWORK TO A WIDER CONVERSATION.
SELECTED MEDIA COVERAGE | 媒体报道精选
SBS 中文 | SBS Chinese — 13 August 2026
《悉尼邦迪海滩现二十四节气壁画 一幅画如何连接中西文化？》
Twenty-Four Solar Terms Mural at Sydney’s Bondi Beach: How Can One Artwork Connect Chinese and Western Cultures?
By Jason Liu · SBS Mandarin
READ ON SBS →
香港新闻社 | Hong Kong News Agency — 10 August 2026
《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〉》
Interdisciplinary Artist Jingmin Ren Completes Large-Scale Public Mural Solar Longitude – Time Orbit at Sydney’s Bondi Sea Wall
READ THE ARTICLE →
Further Media Coverage
Additional selected Australian and international coverage will be added as it is published.
EXPLORE FURTHER
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit is one part of an ongoing artistic and research journey exploring time, nature, astronomy, place and cultural perspectives.
The inquiry continues through new research, sculpture and installation, extending questions first explored at Bondi into new spatial and artistic forms.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES BEYOND THE WALL.
RESEARCH
The Same Solar Longitude, Different Seasons
EXPLORE THE RESEARCH →
SPATIAL TIME · YUAN BOUNDLESS™
New research, sculpture and spatial practice
EXPLORE NEW WORK →
JINGMIN REN · 任静敏
Interdisciplinary Artist & Artist–Researcher
ABOUT THE ARTIST →
但是这里我有一个设计建议
你现在三个入口全部是纯文字纵向排列。
既然这是页面最后的 Explore Further，我仍然赞成我们原来写的“3个视觉入口”这个想法——只是那句中文工作备注当然要删除。
最终最好做成 三个 cards / 三列视觉入口：
RESEARCH
一张 research / diagram / publication 图
The Same Solar Longitude, Different Seasons
EXPLORE THE RESEARCH →
SPATIAL TIME · YUAN BOUNDLESS™
一张 sculpture / new work 图
New research, sculpture and spatial practice
EXPLORE NEW WORK →
JINGMIN REN · 任静敏
一张你的 artist portrait / studio image
Interdisciplinary Artist & Artist–Researcher
ABOUT THE ARTIST →
这样评审来到 Solar Longitude 页面最后，不是面对更多文字，而是非常直观地看到：
Research | New Work | Artist
Research & Publications | 研究与出版
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道 is informed by Jingmin Ren’s | 任静敏 ongoing artistic research into Solar Longitude (太阳黄经), the Twenty-Four Solar Terms (二十四节气), Southern Hemisphere seasonal experience, and the relationship between astronomical time, place and contemporary art.
This research is developed in the publication:
The Same Solar Longitude, Different Seasons: A Southern Hemisphere Interpretation of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms
Jingmin Ren | 任静敏 · 2026
The research examines Solar Longitude as a shared astronomical coordinate while exploring how seasonal experience changes across hemispheres and places. Through astronomy, cultural and seasonal knowledge, place-based observation and artistic practice, it develops a Southern Hemisphere perspective on the relationship between celestial cycles, seasonal change and lived experience.
Current Edition: Version 2 — Revised and Expanded Edition
Concept DOI (all versions):10.5281/zenodo.20628684
Version 2 DOI:10.5281/zenodo.22018896
ORCID:0009-0003-6620-7514
Read the Research — Version 2
About the Artist | 关于艺术家
Jingmin Ren | 任静敏 is a Sydney-based interdisciplinary artist and artist–researcher whose work has been exhibited internationally across Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and China, and recognised through international art awards.
Working across painting, Chinese calligraphy (中国书法), public art and interdisciplinary research, Ren explores time, light, nature, memory, place and cultural experience. Her practice brings together contemporary visual language, Chinese artistic traditions and sustained observation of the natural world.
Her recent artistic research investigates the relationship between Solar Longitude (太阳黄经), astronomy, seasonal knowledge and Southern Hemisphere experience, examining how shared celestial cycles are encountered through different landscapes, cultures and ways of understanding time.
Through works ranging from painting and calligraphy to site-specific public art, Ren creates connections between people, place, nature and time.
Media & Press | 媒体报道
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道 in the Media
Since its completion at the Bondi Sea Wall, Sydney, in August 2026, Solar Longitude – Time Orbit | 太阳黄经－时间轨道 by Jingmin Ren | 任静敏 has received media attention in Australia and internationally.
Coverage has explored the artwork’s relationship with Solar Longitude (太阳黄经), the Twenty-Four Solar Terms (二十四节气), Chinese calligraphy, the Southern Hemisphere and the natural environment of Bondi Beach.
Selected Media Coverage | 媒体报道精选
SBS 中文 | SBS Chinese — 13 August 2026
《悉尼邦迪海滩现二十四节气壁画 一幅画如何连接中西文化？》
Twenty-Four Solar Terms Mural at Sydney’s Bondi Beach: How Can One Artwork Connect Chinese and Western Cultures?
By Jason Liu · SBS Mandarin
香港新闻社 | Hong Kong News Agency — 10 August 2026
《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〉》
Interdisciplinary Artist Jingmin Ren Completes Large-Scale Public Mural Solar Longitude – Time Orbit at Sydney’s Bondi Sea Wall
Further Media Coverage
Additional selected Australian and international coverage will be added as it is published.
More Works | 更多作品
Beyond Solar Longitude – Time Orbit, Jingmin Ren | 任静敏 has developed an interdisciplinary artistic practice exploring time, light, nature, memory, cultural experience and the relationship between people and place.
Explore other projects and bodies of work:
YUANBOUNDLESS™
XINYIN LIUNIAN® | 心印流年
Bondi Series
Sydney Morning
Explore the Art of Jingmin Ren →
Jingmin Ren | 任静敏
Artist–Researcher
Solar Longitude – Time Orbit
太阳黄经－时间轨道
Bondi Sea Wall, Sydney · 2026
Related Research Publication
Concept DOI:10.5281/zenodo.20628684