Fragile – 01 2019
Fragile is my latest project that started from this January. It is also my first interactive body of work. I made a cloth mask sewed with soft mirrors, with me wearing it, I asked people to come and kiss me. When they were kissing me, they would see themselves as a reflection in the mirrors, meanwhile feel my body temperature and breath. I am always confused by the intimate relationships with other people – when you are in love, do you really fall for the other person? Or just need a projection for your love? Or, maybe you just enjoy the chemistry your brain produced. By doing this project, I intend to put these confusions on the table. Videos, digital images and installations are all mediums I’m using in this project. A Public performance can also be a future plan. Though with mask on, the body contact with strangers is quite a challenge for me.
What you collect is part of yourself 2018
Solidified objects give me a secure feeling.
I collect a lot of stuff, to fulfil the blackhole of my desire. Dolls are one of them.
Too bad as a human being, there are always too many emotions, too many desires, too many dissatisfactions. It’s comforting sometimes after a long day when you came home, there are always the collections as a company. But physical objects cannot reach the the real mental needs, so here left an empty space.
To escape from the real world, I took a lot of doll photos, dress them up, choose the clothes, choose the shoes, choose the wigs, then taking photos, the process makes me feel peaceful, like getting into a fantasy world, but not perfect. When you have a lot of certain stuff to some level, these stuff became part of you, It’s hard to say who owns whom, since even after you are dead, these objects may still be there. Just change an owner.
All these thoughts pushed me making images.
Fragile video-2 2019
Fragile is my latest project that started from this January. It is also my first interactive body of work. I made a cloth mask sewed with soft mirrors, with me wearing it, I asked people to come and kiss me. When they were kissing me, they would see themselves as a reflection in the mirrors, meanwhile feel my body temperature and breath. I am always confused by the intimate relationships with other people – when you are in love, do you really fall for the other person? Or just need a projection for your love? Or, maybe you just enjoy the chemistry your brain produced.
This Video is a looping scene of myself kiss a person with the mirro mask. It’s intimate but boring just like relationship.
Note: The text above was written by the Artist. No modification was made by COCA.
Ruya Qian
China
Ruya Qian, artist , based in Shanghai, China. Born in Suzhou. Studied in Shanghai Jiaotong University for BA and San Francisco Art Institute for MFA in Photography. Usually working on mediums such as photography, videos, installations and ceramics. Finalist of Three Shadows’ Photography Award 2016. 2017 Lensculture “Power” online exhibition. Fotofilmic 2017, 2018 finalist. Works got published and exhibited in many cities in China and in the US.