This work is one of a series of works, called Spring Action, in which the artist experiments the physical attributes of springs. For Spring Action I, created when he was in college, he blocked the hallway of a gallery at his college and filled it with water. He fitted several wood boards with springs on one side, then placed them a vertical line on top of the water, spring-side down. In the video, the artist himself runs back and forth over the boards. He adjusts his position on the boards in order to maintain his balance when they begin to shift in response to his movements. The work, a video documentary, shows the performer’s body movements as he runs back and forth, captured by a single video camera at a fixed angle from above. For Tsui, this work measures the body’s physical limitations with respect to the forces of gravity and balance. The concept of measurement began one of the themes in his later works.

This work might also be regarded as a reflection of his interest in exploring art as game and the game as a kind of art. In this game, the performer competes with the body’s physical capabilities. When he falls into the water, he loses the game. This 1995 work also shows the artist’s insistence on calling the performer’s movement, or his work, an “action,” rather than a performance or a video documentary of performance art. This concept of “action” is at the core of Tsui’s works.