Wu Ming-Hsing：The Twelfth Night Forever

When the Holy Spirit is poured out on us, the wilderness becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field appears like a forest. ——— Isaiah, Chapter 32, Verse 15

The time is the winter of the millennium, and the place is an old apartment building in the Marais district of Paris.

Inside the apartment, there is an attic with a white wooden window and a white skylight. By the window, there is a semi-circular wooden table with a pot of dark red chocolate cosmos flowers and two chairs. There is also an oak easel with a white canvas, revealing faint traces of charcoal sketches beneath the white oil paint. A man stands in front of the easel, gazing at the canvas, while a woman sits on the white sofa, engrossed in the sheet music on her notebook. He is the artist Wu Ming Hsing, and she is his wife, Apan.

The studio in the attic is small, with a tiny living room and bedroom, and a small kitchen. Next to the sink, there is a wooden barrel filled with water, soaking many empty red wine bottles. During his time in Paris, he has been having trouble sleeping every night, so he drinks a lot of wine every day. The night is late, but his spirits are still high. In his mind, he thinks about collecting the labels from these wine bottles to create a collage artwork. As he lies with his eyes open, lost in thought, suddenly he hears the sound of poetry. He turns his head and sees a large hole in the ceiling above the fireplace, through which a milky-white light shines down. Many angels descend slowly, carrying gifts in their arms.

He quickly gets up to greet them, feeling deeply moved. He says to the angels, "These gifts are too many, I cannot hold them all. They are already more than enough!"

That night he sleeps well, thinking that love is about giving and sharing. The angels have given him strength, bestowed him with creative talent, and also given him much suffering. He doesn't speak much; he always quietly accepts. He thinks that he wants to share everything he has received with others, using words, paintings, his pain, and joy, transforming them into beautiful works.