Jingzao Du is from China and focuses on social design using textiles as medium. Her work focusses on answering this question: How to understand the 'present' in which we are living?
It is a present of wars, a present of exploited workers, a present of political propaganda that carries a mental colonial dimension. She applies textiles, a seemingly non-offensive medium, to address these aggressive themes.
The narrative and attitude are hidden in the materials, colours and techniques.
"Run-ology"(润学) is a Chinese internet MEME which means a study on how to run away from China and migrate to other countries. It has generated intense debate during the Chinese government's epidemic quarantine policy.
For some people who see their motherland as a disaster or a monster, it is now an emergency situation. They need to open the windows and escape along a rope knotted with bed sheets. Some choose to migrate by study-work, others choose to smuggle themselves across rivers and rainforests.
This is a phenomenon resulting from a combination of China's national conditions and a mental colonisation under Western political propaganda. But it could perhaps be represented in a less serious form of dark humour.
On traditional Chinese window grilles and couplets made of blue and white porcelain, there is a sincere wish for those who practise Runology:
" Have a good journey".
