The Trance on An Island
2022.7
The creator, Hu Qianying, is a student of mine. When I first met her, she seemed quite flustered—probably because her undergraduate background was not in art, and she felt uninspired and unconfident about her own creative work. This project is already the second one we have undertaken together. By the first project, she had already discovered artists and working methods she liked, and in this second project, her painting technique has shown a clear, confident improvement.
So for this project, I began to encourage her to turn her attention outward—to step into a relatively secluded town and engage with local residents through conversation, learning about their history and the lives of others. Around our fourth one‑on‑one session, Hu Qianying told me that she was reluctant to directly confront topics that touched on her own wounds, because it made her deeply uncomfortable—a feeling rooted in her long‑term experience of living with a gentle, vulnerable mother and a father prone to violence.
Throughout this project, I noticed that her works revealed a strong longing for bright, vivid colors. Her fieldwork took place during a 40‑degree Celsius summer, and it was evident to me that over multiple research trips, her emotional state gradually grew softer. By the third visit, she was genuinely happy to show me the interview footage of local elderly ladies who had stopped her on the street and talked at length. I believe that having her interview others was immensely beneficial for her. After returning, she was able, through my structured creative approach, to produce a long scroll painting—a format that also served as a way to reorganize her fragmented memories and emotions.
In short, I consider this a very important project for Hu Qianying. After completing it, she began to open up to me much more willingly and share her inner thoughts.
