Untitled (Work Light)

 

2022

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Aluminum profile extrusion linear rail, wire rope, acrylic sheet, LED tubes borrowed from gallery, cockroach gel, liquid extracts of periplaneta americana for medical use, medical cup

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In the work “Untitled (Work Light)”, the artist borrows a set of lighting tubes from the gallery space and installs them to his roof-like structure. The concentrated LED tubes lit a section of the gallery floor where there is “Kangfuxinye”, a traditional Chinese medicine extracted from American cockroach, contained by three medical cups. Along with the medicine, cockroach-killing gel is also applied in this section of the gallery floor.

 

Such elements of the work recall the reality of American cockroaches residing in Beijing's 798 Art Zone, an urban renovation project that has been the bridgehead of contemporary art in China since the early 2000s. Normally, American cockroach would not survive in the cold and dry seasons in China's northern cities. However, it is believed that the alien species could have traveled within the crates of international transportation. Just like the artworks that have been traded to Beijing over the decades, the insect is no longer a stranger to the local eco system. This curious yet uncomfortable associative experience offers an opportunity for critical thinking about contemporary art in China, a Frankenstein consisting of pleasure, resistance, flattery, healing, capital, and alienation.