Sleigh Talk
4'32"
2022
Conversation
7'15"
2016 - 2017
Entrance
2'38"
2016 - 2017
Not That 2'32"
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In the process of creating this video, I realized that I didn't want anybody to know what was the raw material, as well as what was going on within myself in this period of my life. So after layers and layers of effects, what was left for the audience (if there is one) to experience became abstract shapes moving in grayscale and heavily distorted sound recordings.
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An attempt to explain the process:
1. I built geometric forms out of cereal boxes and put random shit from my studio inside the objects. 2. I wrote down my thoughts on the objects that I just made. 3. I videotaped myself playing with the objects and saying the words that I wrote on the objects. 4. I built a video with the footage, as well as past recordings including construction machinery in Boston, bus announcements in Shanghai dialect, people shutting door in front of my studio, etc. 5. I built a scroll based on the timeline in Adobe Premiere. 6. I cut out the video blocks and added drawings and text in the audio blocks. The drawings and text are what I think respond to the audio. 7. I showed the video and the scroll in a critique and didn't tell anything about this process and people got mad at me. |
Liminal 1'22"
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Constantly switching lives between China and the U.S., I became aware of the simultaneous quality of things that happen around the world. The idea of simultaneity inspired me to do this split-screen piece, where I put my dual life on either side of one screen.
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Sometimes the two sides sync as the center line gets less recognizable, and the next moment they grow into utterly different images. This occasional shift between assimilation and distinction is a symbol of my experience as an unsettled traveler throughout the past 4 years. |
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The Hands Series
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I sat through a friend’s piano practice session one day and drew her moving hands at various moments of the piece. With the imagery of hands stacked up, I created videos based on my past recordings. The videos are projected onto the walls, the ceiling, and the floor so that viewers are immersed in a fusion of aural and visual elements.
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Sources of sound in this series include: -Crowd walking in a subway station in Shanghai -Rope pulling ship in a harbor in Chicago -Evening bells in my neighborhood in Shanghai -Me painting Mathers Theater floor with a roller -Chopin Ballade No. 3 played by Haoruo Zhang |
Diving 1'06"
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Breathing 22"
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Shutting 58"
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Rolling 1'00“
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Pushing 44"
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The Rhythm series
2016
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Animation
I've Been Here
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Everyday
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