I am not a Virus
Sabah, Malaysia
2020
In March 2020, COVID-19 took over the world, and many pandemic related anti-Asian hate crimes were happening in the West. This art piece was created in response to these attacks. Using treated woven bamboo as the canvas surface, and soot as painting material, it features a vignette of Asian men and women with masked faces, with the words “I Am Not A Virus” etched above in vivid letters.
The overall effect of soot on bamboo resembles Chinese ink traditionally used in East Asian calligraphy and brush paintings. However, unlike calm brushstrokes, the unpredictability of using burning candles lends a dynamic, charred and explosive look. To emphasize the message, newspaper clippings about the attacks were weaved into the art piece.
2020年3月,2019冠状病毒席卷全球,许多与疫情相关的反亚裔仇恨犯罪发生在西方地区。作品是为应对这些攻击而诞生。运用经过处理的竹席为画布,煤烟为绘画材料, 该作品呈现七位带着口罩的亚裔男女,文字 “I AM NOT A VIRUS” (我不是病毒) 也被清晰地火熏在竹席上。
对比于中华书法及山水画里呈现的毛笔刚柔笔触,使用蜡烛火熏来作画带来了更有动力、焚烧与爆发力的视觉效果。为了让讯息更强烈,袭击事件的剪报也被编入艺术品里。