Xinran Pu 蒲欣然

The people and things I care about...

NO PLACE TO REST explores the pain and struggles within the family of origin, particularly how dysfunctional family relationships can harm children and have lasting impacts on their adult lives.

Through mixed media, I attempt to present an emotional picture of the intertwining of individual and collective memories, emphasizing their influence on individuals' lives in adulthood and highlighting the dialectical relationship between subjectivity and a sense of fate. And my purpose is to assist those who have experienced unfortunate family backgrounds in redefining and understanding the process of emotional conflict and identity reconstruction.

The focus of the project is to clarify what true love is in the family of origin, providing them with a contemplative space beyond their lived experiences to explore and examine the roots and underlying structures of family pain, while honoring the truth of the harm they have endured.

Meanings

The influence of the family of origin on children is an area of extensive research. In this area, I am researching in detail subjects with bad families of origin, including information on their biological situation, social background, life situation and psychological assessment. In addition, family conflict and intimacy are key points in this project, and I am exploring the psychological impact of the family environment on people, particularly the way in which children cope with society when they become adults. At the same time I am investigating ways to alleviate the suffering caused to victims by their family of origin, which are often referred to as guidelines in psychology.

The furniture was finally chosen as the visual element

I experimented with fabric printing several times and made a quilt and a pillow, both of which were patterned from visualisations of family of origin trauma. Choosing to use common things in the home, especially furniture, to prompt the audience to empathize with the project.

Inspiration for media and materials

Medium: Based on the research I provided above about bad families of origin causing sleep problems, I am trying to use the bed as the main medium to present the victim's emotions. The British psychologist John Bowlby mentions in attachment theory that a secure base is necessary for us to achieve psychological stability and healthy development, and that being close to a secure base allows us to feel safe and protected and supported at all times when threatened. And the bed confirms this, it will largely provide a sense of security and privacy.

Materials: Fabric and rope will make up the majority of the materials for my installations. This is due to the fact that rope has a special meaning in my cultural environment. Rope knots also have an extremely strong presence in the home, and many homes have knots placed in them in the expectation of being blessed and bringing their families closer together. These are all good wishes about knots, but in contrast to a bad family of origin, I intend to adopt this knot to express that all the effects caused by this family conflict are strong and insurmountable.

Area of emphasis

The focus of this project is to explore new forms of communication between the general public and emotional disorders from the perspective of microorganisms. I want to share a common emotional point so that the audience can have an immersive experience in this project and further understand the emotional importance of gut flora to humans. Technically, I will use 3d modelling and rendering and present it as an installation art. 

In this area, I am researching information about the physiology, social background, current situation and psychological assessment of patients with emotional disorders. Physiology is a key point in this project and I am exploring the impact of changes in the gut flora on people's mental health, particularly their flora. I have also researched the difference between the gut flora of rural Chinese residents and urban residents, with the former having a healthier gut. As a result, I hope to create some natural, rural scenarios where I will visualize the relationship between the two, linking changes in flora numbers, form and colour to the emotions of the characters.

Through this work I hope to raise awareness of mental health and the role of gut flora in potential mental illness, and to promote the regulation of gut flora as much as possible, as it is a physical and emotional issue for the general public.

Background

Nature has revealed the communication between the gut and the brain.

The mammalian gastrointestinal tract hosts diverse microbial communities, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses. Bacterial products, such as metabolites and cell wall fragments, are involved in host metabolic functions. In addition, the gut microbiota influences the immune system and the central nervous system, and it has emerged as a key regulator of brain development and behavior regulation. The gut microbiota is a potential therapeutic target for metabolic and mental health disorders Direct and indirect pathways support gut-brain communication, including the vagus nerve, immune factors, and signaling hormones or metabolites. In addition, research has shown that the gut-brain axis involves two-way communication between the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system (which controls the gut), with a focus on the regulation of mood, behavior, and cognitive function.

The gut microbiota, the community of microorganisms that inhabit the human gastrointestinal tract, can affect the gut-brain axis by producing various metabolites that can affect brain function and behavior. Dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the composition of gut microbiota, has been linked to various mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.

Project method

In this project, I plan to use 3D modeling and rendering to show the changes in the number of intestinal flora when people face stress,The scene will choose the natural visual elements of Chinese countryside, such as rice, wheat, mountains and rivers, etc. When people wear VR glasses, they can listen to the sounds of the rural environment and see the visual combination of the intestinal flora and the rural environment, allowing the audience to get an immersive experience, release stress, and feel the natural influence of the individual intestinal flora Influence.