Ephemeral Eternity centres on anonymous, everyday or unfinished structures, using photography to investigate the essence and value of architecture. As architect Frank Gehry has indicated, true “architecture” constitutes only a small fraction of the buildings we encounter each day; the rest serve merely functional needs. Photographer Tianzhou Yang, however, discovers poetry and emotion in these overlooked forms, capturing the profound resonance they attain in fleeting moments.

But what truly qualifies as architecture? Its inherent complexity has long defied any single, convincing definition. Tianzhou offers his own: architecture is the horizon where earth meets sky. The horizon is at once a visual divide and a metaphor for the union of time and space—an “eternity” mankind perpetually chases yet can never reach. Here, “eternity” does not mean material permanence but rather a continuum of spirit and memory, revealed in the instant interplay between structure and setting. In this series, the unfinished, abandoned or provisional state of each building underscores that transient sense of eternity, emphasising the tension between the passage of time and our yearning for the timeless.

Equally, these images stress the intimate bond between architecture and its environment. Tianzhou does not present buildings in isolation but shows how terrain, vegetation, light and climate shape each structure’s identity, making the surrounding landscape an indispensable component of architectural meaning.

Viewed through the lenses of art and architectural history, this work engages with notions of the “everyday monument” and the cultural memory of “anonymous architecture”. By documenting atypical constructions, Tianzhou invites us to reconsider the boundaries of architecture: it encompasses not only celebrated masterpieces but also those humble forms that, in our contemporary context, continue to evoke a strong sense of place and collective recollection.

Ephemeral Eternity is an ongoing meditation on the nature of the built environment. What, after all, is architecture? How should we assess its value? And how can a building serve as a bridge between memory, context and the possibilities of the future?