QUANTA explores power dynamics through a large-scale outdoor sculpture accompanied by a silent performance. The work explores power dynamics through spatial tension. Its title, derived from “quantum”—the smallest unit of energy—points to the invisible forces that shape control, resistance, and collective behaviour. 

A four-metre carbon-steel pyramid radiates institutional authority, with Li’s recurring fictional character Jolene positioned at its summit as a symbol of apparent hierarchy. The tower structure was sponsored by HY Industry and produced through a mass-production process in the company’s factory in China, foregrounding the industrial systems that enable its construction. An East Asian male guard controls the ladder and carries a concealed timer that regulates the performance. While the scene initially suggests authority, the hierarchy is illusory: from the outset Jolene has no freedom of movement or speech, becoming a puppet placed at the centre of power.

Drawing on the design language of communist architecture, the structure merges watchtower, monument, and speaking platform, encouraging contemplation of surveillance, historical narratives, and collective memory. The silence and stillness of the performance heighten attention to subtle gestures. Jolene communicates only through sustained eye contact, confronting viewers and transforming them into participants. Her shifting expressions convey the emotional tension of occupying a position of authority while feeling trapped within it, responding in real time to the presence of the crowd. The performance concludes when the guard forcefully strikes the ladder against the tower, the metallic clang echoing like a bell that breaks the surrounding silence.

The tower’s demolition was planned from the outset, symbolising Jolene’s escape—or revenge—from QUANTA. Displayed for five days at the Royal College of Art, the work highlights the fragility of societal structures that can vanish overnight and mirrors the transient nature of material objects in the art world. After its demolition, the sculpture was recycled by City Waste London, its steel melted down and repurposed to continue serving the city in new forms.