In Lay Down (Hospital Bed), Bai uses a tree trunk as a symbolic form: of life, nation, culture, people. Hollowed out and ‘mummified’ with thousands of identity card photos, the log is placed on an elongated hospital bed, a sickly altar denoting hope and loss. Coated in lacquer, Bai’s sculpture exudes a regal presence in its decline, its quiet puissance and beatific aura reminiscent of sarcophagi effigies. The photographs are arranged in an interlocking pattern referencing lamellar armour (a design associated with the Zhou dynasty), each intimate portrait anonymously contributing to the power and strength of the whole.