2008 Across the Mountains
Across the Mountains
by LinZhang
Chinese
history is the power of art itself, and the history of women’s changes reflects
dramatic and constant changes in Chinese society. These histories are embedded
in my self-identity. Through this piece I am questioning who am I in this
collective history. I design myself as a robot, who wants to touch the
mountains and communicate with them, but the robot cannot climb up the
mountains because the robot is somehow afraid of them. The cycle repeats
itself. My fears are in two layers: there are huge generational gaps, so I am
close to my relatives’ experiences; but I fear talking about their experiences
since they could affect my own decisions.
Because
my great-grand mother told me stories, I always dream of a scene that could be
related to her life: she is very old; are her stories her dreams?
A hundred years
ago,
With her hair worn in a spiral bun, and with her
clothes swinging,
She was walking slowly between the Halls of Red Wall
and Green Tiles,
As the seasons change and her youth passes,
They whisper the legends, lasting for a long time in
the palaces.
It was about the right, the love, and being alive.
They were all beautiful ladies just like flowers,
Smiling in silence, whether in happiness or grief
Whether displaying their charms
Or blossoming as flowers
Whether they feel sorrow in their memories
Across the Mountains from my “Self-Portraits” series is an interactive media
installation that explores generational gaps among women in my family. While mapping
the women’s histories, I found that their daily arguments inspire my ideas.
Seven digitally cropped concentric models of mountains portray women and are
placed on a table as a platform. Five generations of women’s photos
from my family’s collection (great-great grandmother, great grandmother and two
sisters, grandmother, mother, mum-sister and myself) shape the mountains. I insinuate my presence into the work in the form of a
robot, travelling across the mountains. The FSR pressure sensors are installed
on the bottom of each mountain. The viewers can move and touch the mountains
and communicate with a pre-recording sound file; as they move from one model to
another, they hear a sound mix up from two generations. Meanwhile, the robot
interacts with the audiences’ actions: handclapping once, lets the robot stop;
handclapping twice, lets the robot change the direction that it walks.