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Dental Caries
It’s a photographic story about bearing and giving up on my grandmother. There are two chapters. The theme of the first one is ‘bearing’, focusing on my grandmother’s sister Mao-Mao. The special kinship between her and Mao-Mao became a burden. Mao-Mao got encephalitis at 10 because of a persistent high fever, which impeded her brain development. Therefore, in decades, my grandma took care of Mao-Mao until she married my grandfather and moved to another town, but she still visits Mao-Mao every week since then. The second chapter is about ‘giving up’. The village of my hometown was demolished, and familiar neighbors moved to cities. Grandmother’s house is in a pile of ruins, just like an isle. Economic development is like tide, bringing demise and rebirth.
Grandma’s teeth were bad, sometimes they hurt so much that grandma could not sleep at night. I use two different degrees of caries as metaphors for the relationship between Mao-Mao and grandma and hometown demolition. Mao-Mao is like a decayed tooth that has not yet rotted and reached the pulp. The progress of the tooth enamel being eroded is like the burden Mao-Mao brought to grandma’s life. This kind of caries can be repaired, and people use them more carefully because of ailments, but the tooth may continue to rot and cause pain in the future. Demolition of my hometown is like a decayed tooth that can only be cured through root canal treatment, just as the memory of the village is destroyed. The treatment works for good, but as the pain goes away, the teeth never feel the way they used to.
I explore the inextricable connection between people and their loved ones and the land by photographing the lives of my grandmother and Mao-Mao and the changes in the landscape of the village. By doing so, I realise the tenacity, insufferableness, and lingering depression that people have when they need to make the choices of ‘give up’ and ‘bear’.
Handmade Book
Medium: Sample book, hardcover with silver blocking title, the graph and author's name.
Size: 150 pages, 22cm×18cm×2.5cm.
Link: https://youtu.be/yQJgyr1XcQs
Exhibition
Geyujing Shen Dental Caries The Lonely Game
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