Jiaqi Mao

About

姥姥 Lao Lao

静域 Serene Realm

活着 To Live

魔鬼的印记 Devil’s Mark

慢性疼痛 Chronic Pain

叠加 Superposition

版画记忆 Printing Memory



叠加 Superposition


Superposition, spatial intervention, site-specific installation, printing, mineral pigment on fiber paper, 2021
Behavior, video (performance documentation), 03:13 min, 2021


Moments before people set their foot into a new house, anticipation and imagination would thicken and boil over. I fall for the “honesty” of an undecorated space; you could see the beams, concrete walls and all its coarseness. From grandma’s home to my teenage home in Nanjing, from my college dormitory to the new house, each possessed its unique personality –– be it timeworn or modern –– all contributed to my artistic growth.


An empty house that is yet to be finished dovetailed neatly with the traditional way of life portrayed in the prints, curating an exhibition where times and spaces, from past to modern, can coincide and overlap. The absence of an audience in a pandemic only made the exhibition more personal and meaningful: as both the audience and the subject, my family and I observed and were observed, from both sides of the mirror, traveled between past and present.


Peering through the lens, I hope to capture part of my creative process. In the video Behavior, while the act of “printing” mimics intaglio printing, it also pares off its mechanical nature, amplifying an element of unpredictability, which has become a feature of today’s world. The soundtrack was composed of sounds of drumming, its rhythmic tunes ebb and flow with my creative energy.


The global pandemic, the lack of mobility, my creative mood swing, as well as an unexpected unfinished home have all culminated in an exhibition. The exhibition examines the contrast between past and present, static and dynamic, through the lens of location, time, and space. Attempting to preserve its transitory nature, I encapsulated the exhibition into a 3D model.