A lone Buddha head floats in chiaroscuro. Cherney crops the weathered sculpture from the lesser-known Anyue grottoes—one of over two hundred cave temples between Chongqing and Chengdu—isolating it against a deep black field. Soft, directional light entering the grotto sculpts the features in high-contrast tones, while pronounced photographic grain evokes the brushwork of classical ink painting. Close examination reveals micro-cracks, surface pitting, and wisps of moss and lichen clinging to the brow and cheeks. These organic accretions, rendered in crisp relief against shadow, testify to centuries of humid air and dripping water—nature’s own “painting” of decay.

This image is both a relic and a remembrance. Cherney was guided to Anyue by Hui-shu Lee and Lothar von Falkenhausen, art history professors at UCLA, and explored six grottoes during his three-day visit. In black-and-white stillness, the sculpture embodies threefold time: the past of its original carving, the present of its weathered surface, and the future of ongoing entropy. By framing ruin as a monument, Cherney invites us to pause—holding history, nature, and human care in a single, haunting gaze.

视线所及之处，一尊孤立的佛首仿佛在观者面前悬浮，慈悲地注视众生。秋麦将这充满历史的佛首从安岳石窟中截选而出，以深邃的黑色为幕，展现出强烈的明暗对比。洞窟口透入的柔和光线在佛首左侧投下层次丰富的阴影，刻画出鼻梁、眉骨和唇线的微妙起伏；碎镜般的颗粒感则仿佛呼应了中国水墨画中的笔触质地。凑近观赏，佛像表面布满细小裂纹和剥蚀痕迹，苔藓与地衣在眉间、颊侧悄然滋生，诉说着数百年间潮湿气候与滴水侵蚀的岁月痕迹。

这件作品既是遗迹的呈现，也是一场追忆的仪式。安岳石窟虽然相较于大足石刻等世界知名石窟更加鲜为人知，却也拥有两百余处大小洞穴，尽显历史足迹。秋麦在李慧漱和罗泰（UCLA艺术史系教授）的推荐下前往安岳，用三日时间走访了六处石窟。这尊佛首在秋麦的黑白摄影中，同时承载了历史，当下，也为未来石窟不知何时被历史进程侵蚀而平添一丝伤感。秋麦将此斑驳的石像以如此庄严的姿态呈现，邀请观者在默然一瞥中凝住历史、自然与人心的交汇，体味时间与记忆的深刻回响。