"Gaze, Whisper, Impale" (美目盼兮)
// BLURB //
He looked at me with endearing eyes, “don’t you know love is a choice?”. Those last four words lingered in my head for a moment, spinning round like the wheel of death. I fell in love once, many years ago, and I can tell you with certainty nothing was in my control. Since then, I believed true love was untamed, irresistible, unruly, and loud. French writer Simone de Beauvoir would say this type of love is loaded with “mauvaise foi” or bad faith. It’s bad faith to act like we don’t have a choice. To surrender to ferocious emotions is a seductively dangerous game. A game played between unequals, as lure or entrapment, conquest or domination. Loving authentically is the antidote. Freedom should be the destiny, not love. To create meaning together in reciprocal love was the only way for it to be real. My head kept on spinning. Reminiscing about past lovers I found myself stuck, unable to move. Could they be right? I’ve always found myself completely head over heels in love and now my world was crumbling.
He looked at me with endearing eyes, “don’t you know love is a choice?”. Those last four words lingered in my head for a moment, spinning round like the wheel of death. I fell in love once, many years ago, and I can tell you with certainty nothing was in my control. Since then, I believed true love was untamed, irresistible, unruly, and loud. French writer Simone de Beauvoir would say this type of love is loaded with “mauvaise foi” or bad faith. It’s bad faith to act like we don’t have a choice. To surrender to ferocious emotions is a seductively dangerous game. A game played between unequals, as lure or entrapment, conquest or domination. Loving authentically is the antidote. Freedom should be the destiny, not love. To create meaning together in reciprocal love was the only way for it to be real. My head kept on spinning. Reminiscing about past lovers I found myself stuck, unable to move. Could they be right? I’ve always found myself completely head over heels in love and now my world was crumbling.
Perhaps if the knife was in my hands the choice would be different.
EDITION, MEDIA, SIZE & WEIGHT
Edition of 8, Shanghai 2021
Hand-woven New Zealand wool rug
200(W)×200(H)×1.8(D) cm // 9.3 kg
CRATE SIZE & WEIGHT
30(W)×30(H)×210(D) cm // 21.5 kg
EXPOSURE
“The Freaky Deaky island6 Circus Show” at island6 Shanghai
CREDITS
Aline Hui 许桑淇 (illustration) • Nick Hersey (illustration) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
Edition of 8, Shanghai 2021
Hand-woven New Zealand wool rug
200(W)×200(H)×1.8(D) cm // 9.3 kg
CRATE SIZE & WEIGHT
30(W)×30(H)×210(D) cm // 21.5 kg
EXPOSURE
“The Freaky Deaky island6 Circus Show” at island6 Shanghai
CREDITS
Aline Hui 许桑淇 (illustration) • Nick Hersey (illustration) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
CLOSE-UPS
BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO