Braiding Memories
2023, Oil on canvas, cotton, gypsum, hemp, fabric, denim fabric, wool, rubber band, TPU material, nails, staple
Looking back at my life, the memories from these past 17 years shaped who am I. I experienced obstacles, confusion, kinship, friendship, and breakthroughs. In my opinion, 18 is a pivotal point in my life; it’s the ending of my childhood and beginning a new stage of life. Thereby, I created this piece of performing art, to summarize and reflect on my experiences.
Infancy
Primary School
Middle School
High School
I divided my life into four stages regarding time: infancy, primary school, middle school, and high school. In addition to depicting each stage in four paintings, I also using multiple mediums to symbolize my memories.
Oil on canvas, cotton, gypsum, hemp, fabric. 80×100 cm
For instance, in the newborn stage, I used the color blue, since my first little pillow and blanket were blue. The color in the middle is light, coming through an irregular rectangle, which suggests the shape of a window and shows the baby exploring the environment and perceiving the world through blurred eyes. The cotton, hemp fabric, and flower blanket represent the purity and the primitive form of materials, which link to babies.
Oil on canvas, gypsum, cotton thread, wool, rubber band. 80×100 cm
Yellow, red, and warm colors give the audience a sense of energy and positivity, which best describes my life in primary school. Meeting friends and running around, feeling the sunshine, and laughing all day fills my memories. Thus, I composed round colored blocks and figure-like lines to showcase friendship. I always tied my hair up while running around as a child, so I use rubber bands as a symbol to represent this stage.
Oil on canvas, gypsum, denim fabric,TPU material, nails, staple. 80×100 cm
The third stage is the dark period. I was the drummer in a band with some friends, but as we grew older, our goals and pursuits varied among the five of us. The majority of them wanted to make a name for our band and commercialize our music, which conflicted with my values, so we had a lot of conflicts. The conflicts were not on the surface, and this incident showed me the complexity of society for the first time. Thus, I use TPU black material to cover the nails on the canvas to symbolize the stifling atmosphere.
Oil on canvas, gypsum, yarn, woolen fabric. 80×100 cm
The last piece represents my most current period, during which, after all the challenges and difficulties I experienced in school, I became calmer and discovered my interest and priorities. Therefore, the use of green suggests a realization that my life is green and warm. The blanket symbolizes warmth and security, and my interest in knitting and crochet.
Stills
