I have consistently maintained my conviction in the potency of language. I aim to communicate the power of words to the viewer of my work in two distinct forms, and my work is composed of two components. “Dear Theo” is the name I gave to the paintings on the wall, which were the initial component. The text on each of the four paintings is in both Chinese and English, with the proportion of Chinese text decreasing and the proportion of English text increasing. I am of the opinion that these four states will be experienced by all individuals, not just artists, when confronted with certain situations: bewilderment, confusion, exploration, and determination. I have depicted this process in my own image and reproduced portions of Van Gogh’s correspondence with his brother Theo during his travels.
Two chairs, a table, notebooks on the table, and a video comprised the second piece. I asked three questions to a variety of individuals, documented the process in the form of a video, and then displayed the notebook containing their responses. In the interim, the tables and chairs would be utilised for the same series of inquiries that I posed to the audience in the room.
The two works are similar in that they both invite the viewer to engage with the work. The viewer has the option of incorporating any element they desire into the forth painting of Dear Theo, or they may contact me to participate in the performance of the second work.
