to cut the feet, to fit the shoes
“to cut the feet, to fit the shoes” is a participatory project documenting the appearance anxiety within the Chinese young people. The phrase "to cut the feet, to fit the shoes'' comes from a Chinese idiom (削足适履/xue zu shi lv), which literally means to cut off a bit of one's foot in order to fit into a shoe. The metaphor is used to describe the unprincipled accommodation of existing conditions or the rigid adaptation of existing conditions despite objective conditions. This project is based on the participation of people of different backgrounds who were invited to "beautify" the portrait of Ms JiaoyanYang and me, according to their preference. And then the project continues with the decontextualisation and recontextualisation of those beautifications. Originated from personal experience of Chinese portrait clients requesting cosmetic or surgical post-processing of the photos, the project serves as documentation of frequent 'types' of appearance beautification intervention. It incorporates elements of the software processes into the creative form, and hints at the absurdity of virtual physical enhancement by playing with, for example, the leftovers of trimmed features, or applying aesthetic beautification strategies to photographs of landscapes. The project plays on ideas of commodification and pseudo-science in a way that evokes the repurposing of mass produced objects by Duchamp and the Dadaists. The strength of the project lies in the humour and absurdity that, gently, questions the need for such a need for self-image screen based enhancements. The central creative structure is the facial improvements to my and my collaborator's faces by invited participants, the visualisation of these processes/softwares, and the repurposing of these in unexpected forms. Around this structure, the work introduces more profound ideas concerning self-image, spirituality and cultural theory through the creation of Chinese symbols or use of English words as section headings (and use of quotations). This provides a depth to the work within which the viewer/reader experiences the absurdist visual 'play'.
The project is merely to offer resistance to the ubiquitous appearance anxiety rendered by the mass media and commodity fetishism, and to buoy us up with the courage to embrace ourselves, to let go of harsh self-recrimination and happily accept our own identity and uniqueness, fearlessly, and delightfully.
project exhibited at:
Mirror of Self - PhotoBrussels Festival 07, Hangar Photo Art Center, Brussels, Belgium
Between the Headlines - International Body of Arts, Black Swan Studio, London, United Kingdom
photobook exhibited at:
Space on Paper - Jimei X Arles 2022 Contemporary Book Exhibition, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Xiamen(Amoy), China
“to cut the feet, to fit the shoes”
Photobook
Year: 2021
Book art:
Swiss brochure
Coptic binding with dental floss
Printing:
Xerox digital press
Screen printing & Thermographic printing
