Year: 2024
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 20 cm
Materials: mahjong set, bowl, chopsticks, thread
Red has long been important to Chinese culture. The invisible red thread, leading us to our fated one. The colour that wards off evils. The red that brings us good luck and fortune. The red of the family bloodline. The red of the revolution…
This symbolism is combined with longevity noodles, whose length represents a long and healthy life, to mahjong tiles, where the numbers correspond to Chinese slang for ‘forever’ (1314 – 一三一四 – yī sān yī sì, is similar to: 一生一世- yī shēng yī shì) and ‘tearful crying’ (555 – 五五五 – wú wú wú, is similar to: 呜呜呜 – wū wū wū).
It’s funny how we can both believe in the strength of our autonomy and also surrender ourselves to fate. We are a product of our history, but we feel that we are different. We make our own choices, but we expect fate to protect us regardless. We experience things by chance, but then rationalise that it was inevitable. We can promise each other forever, but we have no notion of what that is. We could be happy but sad.
Shown in:
Take-Away (2024)
Lisha Zhong 