At the Ligongdi Cultural and Creative Block, a metallic sculpture shines like glass under the sunlight, shimmering in harmony with the rippling water at its foot. It has attracted many people to pause and take photos.

The artistic installation called “Gaze” was jointly created by Frédéric Baron, co-designer of the Le mur des je t’aime (“Wall of Love”) in Montmartre, France, Fei Zhixiong, a Chinese calligrapher, and Zhang Dalu, a professor at the School of Art of Soochow University.

Inspired by French deconstructivism and traditional Chinese painting, the installation features overlapped frames enclosing several cubes with surfaces looking like flowing ink.

The artists overcame geographical and language barriers through remote collaboration, and ultimately achieved a surprising harmony in the final piece.

“This is not only a meeting of artistic minds, but also a living symbol of Sino-French friendship,” said Baron.