Pipe
2004
Light as Smoke
2011
440 pound block of tobacco embossed with the words "light as smoke" on top
"Xu Bing’s piece highlights the contrast between the materiality of tobacco and its evanescence when consumed."
Match Flower
2011
see them, and others,
here:
http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v10n2/gallery/ravenal_j/xu-bing.shtml
Further reading,
here:
http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/china-trade
Another interesting thing,
the Reel Book
featuring text from the old classic,
With the Poets in Smokeland
here:
http://www.artesmagazine.com/2012/04/aldrich-contemporary-art-museum-with-installation-art-by-xu-bing/
Also note the wonderful Chinese poem quoted there,
I love it.
:Puffing fragrance, exhaling the Sage’s vapor;
Bluish tendrils born from the subtle smoke.
The Gentleman’s Companion, it warms my heart
And leaves my mouth feeling like a divine furnace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNlgVsQUMOI