Yuebin Gong’s art makes sense in a weird way. The baby in the glowing pond represents man’s innocence. The translucent white drapes dangling from the ceiling create a maze, abstractly portraying life’s trials and tribulations, obscuring the hapless babe. Or, Gong explained, it could mean something completely different to each person.

The piece described above, titled “Black Hole,” was on display at a reception in the University Ballroom Wednesday night. More of Gong’s work is being shown in the Else Gallery on campus until Friday.

Gong, who relocated to Sacramento from China in 2002, specializes in what he calls “installations,” which are large-scale sculptures and constructions that can take up entire rooms. As a college student, Gong’s major was ink painting, but he said he began building installations when he realized he could not complete his “visions” on a single sheet of paper.

With “Black Hole,” Gong tries to convey the idea of loss of innocence brought about by human nature itself. With each step the viewer takes from the baby in the center, it becomes more obscured by the hanging draperies.

“(Our goodness is blocked) by greed, aggression, and a boundless desire to waste our natural world,” he explained. “This is a black hole we ourselves created.”

Another of Gong’s installations is up right now in the Else Gallery.

Called “Life’s Crossroads,” it features part of the burnt trunks of trees, standing upright, arranged over the ground. The artist said he was inspired to make this piece when he saw charred tree bark during a 2007 ski trip in the Sierra Nevada with his family.

“It is not burnt trunk,” he said. “That is (a) human body standing there wanting to talk with us. That is the perfect material to explain what I want.”

Senior business management major Mike Archibald works for the University Union and volunteered to assist Gong in setting up “Black Hole” for the reception. Archibald said it took two days for him and Gong to assemble. On the first day, they measured the room to make sure everything would fit and hung the wires from which the curtains were suspended. Then they were in the Ballroom from 11 p.m. Sunday until 5 a.m. Monday putting everything in place and building the wooden pond in the middle.

Archibald said Gong clearly knew exactly how he wanted the finished product to look, but he was also great at thinking on his toes. When they hit a bump, he was quick to solve it.

“Besides having only have 30 minutes of sleep that day,” Archibald said, “it was a really cool experience, so I’m glad I did it.”

Although some students said they could not understand what Gong meant to say with “Black Hole,” its significance was not lost on all. Julieta Lopez, a student from Cosumnes River College, stopped by the exhibit after leaving another event in the Union. She said she did not hear Gong explain the installation, but she got a definite impression from it.

“I thought it was kind of symbolic of life,” Lopez said. “Like you are born into the world, and it is kind of like a maze to get out.”