My 14 Days of Quarantine
The sudden outbreak of the epidemic had made this Spring Festival holiday longer and longer. After the Lantern Festival, I took the whole family and drove 600 kilometers — from my hometown in the northeast — back to Beijing. Then my 14-day quarantine period officially began. Everyday after I woke up, the first thing I did was to pick up my phone and browse the news and my social media timeline. They were full of various opinions, including criticisms, compliments, and tabloid news, from pro-America, pro-Japan, to anti-Russia and anti-China — clash of different ideologies. But besides these news, I had to find something to do, otherwise it would be way too boring. I originally wanted to conceive the work that was left unfinished before the Chinese New Year. But my thoughts were too much affected by the epidemic and I couldn't think of anything else. So I simply decided to make some works related to the epidemic.
These works are not so-called anti-epidemic works. At best, they are my psychological journey throughout the epidemic. One piece a day, including paintings, sculptures and installations. Conditions at home are very limited, and I have no professional tools and materials here, so I just used things that I can find at hand, including children’s paint brushes and toys, and packaging boxes from my wife’s online shopping. I had heard that home isn’t the ideal place to make work — now I really get it. Three adults and two children are extremely noisy during the day, and my availability was intermittent. Now I really miss the quiet atmosphere of the studio.
In fact, this pandemic has exposed many problems, and sometimes it’s difficult to witness those things. I am glad that it’s not a war, otherwise there’d be even more sacrifice. There are too many things to be reflected upon after the pandemic. No just Hubei, it might as well be the same outcome if the pandemic had started elsewhere — maybe they even wouldn’t have handled it as well. Particularly when Doctor Li Wenliang passed away, the internet was filled with “negativity”. The whole nation was in anger. Li is a very representative figure and I think he will still be remembered by the people after a very long time. Because he is exactly like you and me, just an ordinary person. Hence most of the work I made is about him.
Although art cannot directly preserve the pandemic, it can sometimes protest. Spring will come, but let’s not forget how cold this winter has been! I hope there will be some memories and warnings for us to keep.
Translated by Dot Jia
《我的隔离14天》
突如齐来的疫情让这个春节假期越放越长，元宵节后带着全家老小，从东北老家一路驱车600公里回到北京，14天的隔离期正式开始。 每天醒来第一件事就是拿起手机，在网上和朋友圈里刷刷消息，里面各种各样的观点都有，有批判的、弘扬的、还有小道的，有亲美哈日的、也有辱俄排华的、各种思想激情碰撞。可除了这些还要找点事，不然太无聊了。本来想构思一下年前未完成的作品，但思绪被疫情牵连着根本思考不下去，索性就做些与疫情相关的作品吧。
这些作品并不是所谓的抗疫作品，充其量算是疫情心理日记吧，每天一件，其中有绘画，也有些雕塑和装置。在家里条件非常有限，也没有什么专业的工具和材料，所以使用的都是些随手可以找到的东西，这其中还包括孩子们的画笔和玩具，老婆网购的包装箱等等。之前就听说家里不适合创作，这回真相信了，三个大人俩小孩儿，白天非常嘈杂，我的时间也是断断续续的，现在很是怀念工作室的安静氛围啊。
其实通过这个疫情还是暴露了不少的问题，有时候看的人心里很不是滋味，幸亏这次不是战争，不然会付出多大的代价啊，这次疫情结束后有太多东西可以好好反思一下，厉害不厉害咱得事儿上说话。不仅仅是湖北，也许疫情发生在很多地区，可能结果也都差不多。搞不好还不如湖北呢。尤其是李文亮医生牺牲的那段时间里，网上“负能量”霸屏，全国人民的愤怒一下子被点燃了。他是一个特别有代表性的人物，我想再过很长时间，他依然会被人们经常提起，因为他就是你我这样的普通人，所以作品中有很多都是关于他的。
艺术虽不能直接抗疫，但艺术有时却可以抗议。春天还是会到来的，但我们也不要忘记这个冬天有多冷！希望它们能给大家留下一些回忆和警醒吧。