Mezzanine Gallery

CROSSROADS

By Yujin Cao and Wei Wu

“How do you move through the city?” Crossroads is a participatory installation that transforms the Mezzanine Gallery into a space of seasonal and symbolic transition. Positioned at the city’s civic heart, the gallery offers a rare vantage point—one that looks outward toward Boston’s bustle while anchoring the weight of its public architecture. Amid challenges and transitions, the artists see this space as a symbolic crossroads—where past, present, and future converge. Through a subtle gradient of color, shifting from beige to green, a quiet shift in tone mirrors the progression from winter to spring, symbolizing the collective journey of Bostonians as they move from dormancy toward renewal. 

At the center of this installation is a poetic gesture: movement. Movement can be fast or slow, daily or occasional, intentional or ordinary.

Captured through community submissions, this installation will come to life with the projection of “Portraits of Movement", a video that celebrates everyday Bostonians and the spirit of the city—resilient, forward-moving, and united. At all other times, the installation remains still: a quiet space of potential energy, a canvas awaiting activation. The work draws on Boston’s legacy of endurance—both literal and symbolic. From Kathrine Switzer’s historic run in the 1967 Boston Marathon to the city’s defiant response after the 2013 bombing, Boston has long embodied courage, solidarity, and civic strength.

Crossroads offers a space where art, community, and public identity meet—a quiet call to keep moving forward, together. In this way, this installation becomes a meditation on the Zeitgeist—the civic spirit of Boston defined by participation, resilience, and shared momentum. By weaving together personal motion and collective symbolism within this monumental space, the artists aim to create a quietly powerful intervention that honors the city’s spirit and welcomes the arrival of spring.

Yujin Cao is an architect and artist whose work explores the intersection of built and imagined worlds. Holding a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, she integrates architecture, painting, installation, and photography into layered, immersive narratives that engage space, memory, and perception. Shaped by experiences studying, teaching, and practicing across Asia and North America, Yujin’s work reflects a global perspective and a cross-cultural design sensibility. Her practice has received international recognition, including honors from Architizer A+ and MasterPrize. Her artwork was selected for Harvard Zone 3’s Art in Print, Volume 20, and distributed as a 25-cent collectible poster through public newspaper bins in Allston—an initiative that situates contemporary art within everyday civic life. Alongside her creative practice, Yujin is a first-dan black belt in Taekwondo, which she approaches as a form of embodied expression, informing her exploration of movement, rhythm, and physical presence in space.

Wei Wu is an interdisciplinary artist working in the public domain, whose practice centers on spatial storytelling and civic experience. She works with mixed reality, projection, and interactive audiovisual systems in spatial environments to create immersive experiences. Wei’s work addresses social issues, aiming to foster profound dialogues between audiences and broader cultural landscapes. She holds a Master’s degree in Art, Design, and the Public Domain from Harvard Graduate School of Design. Wei’s works have been exhibited at major public venues, including the Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest). She has also led and contributed to large-scale art projects presented at institutions such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Her work has recently been exhibited in the US and internationally in Athens, Bergamo, Linz, Madrid, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Shenzhen.

This exhibition is organized by Galleries and Exhibitions Manager, Mariana Rey in dialogue with the artists. To learn more about the artists please visit yujincao.com and wuweilab.com.