Mo Ganji: Chinese Giant Salamander | Chinesischer Riesensalamander | Andrias davidianus | No. 058/250 from work group 8/99

Chinese Giant Salamander | Chinesischer Riesensalamander | Andrias davidianus

Mo Ganji’s single line encounters the Chinese giant salamander — a massive, fully aquatic amphibian — as a gesture seeking the essence beneath appearance. The continuous line provides only a pared-down indication of form, suggesting a presence that could be read as salamander yet remains open to multiple interpretations. In this deliberate simplicity, the being is allowed to surface before the structures of naming take hold.

Andrias davidianus is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Once widespread across the river systems of central, southern and eastern China, the species has suffered drastic declines. Habitat destruction, river pollution and overharvesting for food and traditional medicine have left wild populations extremely fragmented and possibly near extinction in many regions.

Additional pressures include competition and genetic dilution from large-scale commercial farming, where different salamander lineages are bred and released, blurring the remaining integrity of wild populations. Altered waterways and declining water quality further constrain the species’ ability to survive and reproduce in the few remaining suitable habitats.

Ganji’s single line shifts the gaze toward a quieter recognition, inviting the viewer to sense a being rather than a category. In this distilled contour, the presence of the salamander becomes a reminder that our perceived separation from nature is a fragile illusion — and that the fates of all beings, including our own, are entwined within the same living systems we reshape and depend upon.