The House of YUAN (2022)
Inspired by a story shared by my aunt, I created a video and collage piece revolving around the ‘Yuan’ family house. This house, the first two-story building in Guiding, China, held immense significance as it housed multiple generations and embodied Confucian values of filial piety and collectivism in the 1950s. Although I never experienced it as my own universe due to the Chinese government’s takeover, I sought to recreate and revive its essence.
Gaston Bachelard’s idea of the reciprocal relationship between inhabitants and their dwellings resonated with me. The video showcases my hands manipulating found imagery, serving as evidence of tracing and reconstructing a mythical place that both exists and doesn’t. I navigated the process of building and reviving, seeking to find my identity in two spaces where I feel detached. Simultaneously, I express the longing to reconnect with my family and preserve their stories.
Her Voice (2019)
The series was a response to the incident from August 2019, where an artwork commemorating comfort women, ‘The statue of Peace’ was exhibited in Japan, the exhibition was shut after three days of threat calls. The Japanese government has paid little to no attention to the war crime.
7 steps to Sinofuturism (2019)
This is a combination of modern China and the traditional China. The stereotypes that were used by the West, gazing at China is now pushing the coutry to grow at a rapid speed, and in a robotic form. Sinofuturism is a concept/manifesto coined by Lawrence Lek. The artwork used montage to link the stereotypes to modern Chineseness:
Computing– Censorship and internal web developments
Copying– The village that can copy and fraud any painting
Gaming– Rapid growth of gaming industry
Studying– Heavy emphasis for the past few decades
Addiction– With the rise of national industries, people are indulged with fast forms of entertainment that’s offered, lack of real talent and craziness of idol culture.
Labor– With the growing e-commerce, it has pushed people to be extremely creative with money making, and with new industries blooming, it requires a huge amount of labor.
Gambling– Mahjong is a national game, and a game loved by many, it’s a fun and strategic game that’s highly abused by gamblers.