Topic: Strange Habit
Artist Statement:
Formation and Meaning
It is an installation displaying different strange habits aims to 1) criticize ‘normal’ and ‘strange’, and 2) raise up curious of self-identification. Constructing a small town by the wood board, I then apply the projection mapping technique to project different people, who are looping their strange habit, inside the town. Through the installation, I hope to bring out the message, to the world, everyone is just a normal person; but when you look close, everyone is unique and special (like having their own habit).
Reason to Create
At the beginning of the project, I selected this topic just for fun. Since many of my friends are having some special and weird habits. Having those habits, others not necessarily need to understand or to interpret its reason behind; nonetheless, it becomes the impression and one of the symbols of her. However, in society, we make a great effort to hide our difference in order to become ‘normal’ and fit into society. And thus, we are being stereotyped, no matter in what role, career, or position. For instance, a father must be brave, strong and the breadwinner, the doctor comes from rich family, and people living in the estate are poor. This kind of stereotype is further affecting our personality. The object relations theory introduced by the British psychologists Melanie Klein, also explores how others affect us in relationships. We always seek to be the mass, but we are acting like the niche in fact, just like having those ‘strange’ habits. ‘Strange’ is not defined by others, nevertheless, is by ourselves. As to bring out the message, I collected the unusual behaviours (i.e. the strange habits) and record them in my work. Instead of focusing to show the strange habits, I choose to build a town model and hidden those habits inside the buildings. The audiences could then discover every single person in the town is unique. I also hope the audience could realize that even we live in the mighty torrent, we have our unique value.
Case Study
‘Along the River During the Qingming Festival’《 清明上河圖》painted by Song dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan in 1085–1145, is a large-scale panoramic painting recorded the daily life of people in Beijing during the Northern Song dynasty. From landscape to buildings, from the rich to the poor, from activities to clothing, each detail is well displayed and consequently highly revered. The work inspires the formation of my project. As mentioned, a small town is constructed and people are projecting on to the buildings. Despite the fact that it is not easy to recognize each strange habits in such a town, it strengthens the meaning of the work. We do not need others to understand, to criticize us, only we, ourselves remember our unique value is good enough.
Finished Materials:
- 20 paintings, 11 animations
- Prototype of the building
// for more details about different strange habits, please refer to the previous blog, thank you.