This mind-map outlines the structure of how I think and develop my works in Unite 2.
Hair Series
Photograph
I used my hair as a metaphor of memory/trace/river/connection/light to explore shape and space. In the beginning, I randomly made some gestures on my hair and photographed them. I explored the relationship between process and outcome. My behaviors on the experiment and I photographed the random outcomes are inspired by the philosophy of absurdism. Although everything shows a specific outcome, they come from absurd.
Furthermore, I put my hair into the water, and I continued to photograph my hair when the water was stirring. I observed the status and the forms of my hair when they were influenced by different speeds and space.
Finally, my hair was ignited and became ash. The burning process demonstrates a conversion relation between substance and energy. And the ash aligns with the philosophy of nihilism.
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Petals Series
Photograph
Petals Series 2
Photograph
Petal is another element that has been widely used in the first layer of my work. There are so many meanings I have found on the petal. The first time when I discovered petals was when I realized I was an anxious person who was fascinated by those things that are pink and gentle, making me feel relax.
Then, I found petal can be used as a metaphor in my work. For example, there is a phase in China “things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme." which means an item or an object will fade when it reaches its peak. The blossom is the most beautiful state of the flowers, but it cannot retain this state for a long period because it will be fading soon. Thus, blossom is the peak of the flowers rather than normalcy. However, many people misunderstand the peak of the flower as a state of normalcy that they should be pursuing, and they often feel miserable as they do not satisfy their desires.
Furthermore, the falling petals look like falling snow. Its beauty originally from it is tender and brittle, and we cannot keep it in the same state because it will melt once we touch it. Therefore, the only thing that we can do is to enjoy the moment and appreciate it. From an existential nihilist point of view, everything will be gone, just like the falling snow will melt once it falls on the ground, but we still can enjoy the falling moment regardless of the outcome. I believe everyone has an option to choose their attitude, whether enjoying the process or focusing on the outcome. This is the main difference between existential nihilist and nihilist.
Moreover, a gust of falling petals reminded me of the phenomenon of biological mechanisms. I often wonder I was a fish, and I thought I was being influenced by the shoal of the fish. I use a piece of petal and a gust of petals as elements to explore the relationship between individuals and groups, and I question the meaning of individuals in the face of the ephemerality of life.
Documentation 1
Video 5
Video 6
The falling sakura petals were shining like meteor showers, which reminded me that life is a process of being hurt. And I think the beauty of life and petals are because both of them are pure, fragile, transitory, untrammeled, and random.
While everything comes and vanishes in vanity, I enjoy each moment of the present. As Nietzsche said, “And let each day be a loss to us on which we did not dance once! And let each truth be false to us which was not greeted by one laugh!” （Cambridge University Press 2006. Adrian Del Caro)
Petals in the Air
Photograph
Schools of Fish
Video screenshots
From Youtube
From a macro perspective, I think I was a fish. I’m too small to know the world, but one thing I can confirm that there are so many things that are predetermined, and I’m being influenced and shaped by social ideologies, just like fish cannot live without water.