Artist Statement
An obsession is defined as a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling broad. My archive aims to visualise my obsessions and discover the relations between us.
Describe some themes that emerged from your archive – are there connections, overlaps, relationships between different obsessions that interest you?
I briefly summarised my archive as intangible relations between humans and nature. For instance, I have natural elements such as forests, mushrooms, and rabbits; combined with human features such as languages, histories, and bodies. The connections to my childhood shaped culture and identities started getting stronger after I tried to figure out why my attention lingers on humans and nature in particular. For example, rabbits, history, and language share no relation without knowing the Chinese traditional symbols of spiritual animals. Having the opportunity to study in countries with diverse history and culture stimulated my curiosity towards the surrounding environment, as presented by obsessions such as uncertainty, questioning, and arranging. My identity formed the source of my inspiration. As a result, “relationships’ ‘became the best conclusion of such a project. Not only about the relations between my obsessions but how my experiences have shaped my obsessions.
How and why did you design the archive the way that you did?
Obsessions revolve and entangle with me from both physical and mental points of view. Obsession is uncertain, with extreme cases. The initial idea with this concept was to paint patterns over my body; however, the images were unclear and mushy. Painting on the skin is ineffective in presenting how obsessions are rooted in our minds and body. As a result, I got inspired when talking about getting a new tattoo. Then I did some research, and the concept fits well. Tattoo inks are pushed into our skin and stay permanently; just like how we have a long-lasting relationship with our obsessions. I also wanted to introduce the concept of parasitism as an additional relationship. I see myself as a container to my obsessions. However, once I get too extreme about it, they can take control like parasites, spreading like a disease. Since tattoos are limited in size, I used photoshop to make a neat and clear image of the text corresponding to each of my obsessions. Then, I printed it out with different textured paper to see how well it fit my skin. The process of “wearing it on” was fun; I mixed white glue with water and foundation to create a sticky liquid that can stick on the connections between my skin and the sticker, making it look like a real wound. I was quite happy with the final presentation; it looked like some infection rooted into my body, whereas the centre is hollow and mysterious, representing my uncertainty and curiosity towards these obsessions.
