From Art in America: "Stamping the Water" [is] a 36-panel record of his 1996 performance that was pinned to the wall in a grid. Large color photographs document the artist sitting in the shallow water of a river, lifting and then immersing a wooden stamp (or chop) and repeating the action for exactly one hour. The performance took place in Tibet and relates to the Tibetan custom of dunking a small statue of Buddha on the spiritual leader's birthday. For Song, however, "stamping the water" conveys a secular rather than religious intent: the impression of the stamp is transient and makes no permanent impact, just as official stamps, used to authorize various activities in China, have no power to influence underlying attitudes and beliefs.