Two-channel installation
CAM001
Screen and an IP surveillance camera connected to wifi
3 nets made from silky threads, 65 x 120 cm each
CAM002
Video, high definition, 16:9 format, color, 4 min 45 sec (loop)
Red tie-dyed cotton fabric, 0.9 x 2 m
Description:
Inspired by the ubiquitous presence of caged windows and doors of the buildings in Xiamen, Everything comes from heaven highlights the privacy issue in China, an aching universal problem of the contemporary world. The work consists of a two-channel installation – CAM001 and CAM002.
CAM001 serves as a surveillance camera with three layers of red nets made from Chinese button knots draping over a screen. Upon entering this area, the audience will be watched and monitored by an anonymous controller – either artist or another audience. At times, the controller would initiate a conversation or fix the camera’s angle on a random visitor as he/she wishes. CAM001 is designed to demonstrate the so-called “God’s point of view”, the state’s absolute power over its people. CAM002 conveys the life behind the net: a person is performing tie-dying in an everyday – life setting. Seemingly an ordinary dying technique, the act of twisting, tying and then releasing to achieve the consistent white stripes give a feeling of an act of silent resistance. The work solemnly begs the question of how much of such resistance is enough in order for one to live in a cage-free, surveillance-free world, an idea that might appear foreign to many.