Pearls of Wisdom | fengwuchao

Title: Pearls of Wisdom

Date: 2022-23

The unrefined misshapen pearls depict unspeakable traumas through the feminine metaphor of pearls, born of time, nature, and heart. The artist often experiences a sort of aphasia when attempting to articulate her trauma, especially those attached to her female identity. The weight of these mixed feelings silences her voice, while the language and cultural barrier makes it even harder as an outsider. Gradually, a pearl has formed out of the silence and endurance in her heart.

As flawed byproducts of pearl cultivation in her hometown, these pearls have been rearranged and translated into another natural and transcultural language, beyond the bounds of perfection or imperfection. All the lines, cracks and holes that appear on the pearl must be telling us something about the life of the clam, the trauma, and the urgency of collective care.The material ‘emits’ language as if it is already embedded in its very cellular structure. All she’s doing is drawing out the poetic and powerful statements that are already there in a state of potential.

装置以珍珠为喻，拼写出那些内心深处的难言之隐。珍珠是时间、自然和心的产物，是接受异物、转化共存的自我和解之旅。这些特殊的字母珍珠多是人工养殖中不尽人意的、廉价的瑕疵品，重新收集组合后却成了另一种自然语言，无关完美或是瑕疵。The Pearl是一场自白也是一面镜子，或是自我或是群体，或是矛盾或是和解，只是站在人生的每一个寻常的节点上，再回头看，那些苦难和创伤都成了时间留给我最锐利的箴言。