My Son, My Son,
What Have Ye Done?
2016Time-based installation
This installation centers on a sacrificial altar where a single bar of soap is subjected to a slow, rhythmic erosion. Under the steady drip of water, the soap gradually softens and thins until it is physically snapped by the weight of its own burden. It is a meditation on the slow deterioration of familial bonds and the declining physical wellbeing of my mother. Having been away from China for many years, the distance has transformed home into a space of impending loss.
The piece is also a linguistic dissection of my mother’s name, Jiezhen (洁贞), meaning "cleanliness and chastity." This paternal projection of ideal womanhood has manifested in her as a hyper-vigilant anxiety—a compulsion toward cleanliness and a hypochondriacal fear of the world. Here, the soap serves as a fragile symbol of the heteronormative duties and cultural expectations placed upon a mother and wife, documenting the moment where the pressure to remain pure becomes a breaking point.
Installation
Fabrication
