The “Vortex” series of reliefs, named after the eponymous exhibition taken place in 2017 in Shanghai further expands Zhang Ding’s two-dimensional sculpture practice. For this series of works, the artist embedded in 24k gold plated brass - through a meticulous erosion technique - the geological features of major gold mines around the world. Above the luminous golden plate, a glass with representation of skulls and skeletons are applied. Besides the absurd gesture of depicting gold with gold, or drawing a treasure map in gold, the Vortex series of reliefs speaks to the large-scale artwork of virtual environment also under the same title, revealing the often neglected meaning of the relationship between the geological and desire, in the age of the Anthropocene.