Junshu Gu

This project centered around anxiety served as the catalyst for escapism. After experimenting with various mediums, such as water drops, dice, and emojis, the huge mirrored balloon, standing at the same height as the artist, ultimately became the symbolic representation of anxiety.

The title's courteous salutation, often encountered in emails, proves to be an ineffectual source of solace. The two collections of photographs—I see these as ID and life photos—chronicle the journey of navigating anxiety within the confines of a private realm. It gives birth to an immense, reflective heterotopia of one's own existence. Eventually, they will be meticulously folded into envelopes and dispatched.

This is a project about a nose.

‘One day, the nose escapes from the face’. The soft, tiny, and sensitive nose, which is not allergic to pollen, but to cat hair, suddenly stirs awake. Taking inspiration from Nikolai Gogol's 'The Nose', this project evolves into a monologue wherein the runaway nose, escaping the face of anxiety, stages a first-person, stream-of-consciousness play. Meanwhile, 'Missing Nose' posters are strategically displayed in public spaces to add a touch of absurdity and playfulness to the textual project.

The Chinese character for nose (鼻) also represents the self (自) in ancient Chinese. This artwork delves into the concepts of flâneurs and self-awareness, employing minimalist forms infused with personal anecdotes. It serves as a microcosm of the artist's own experiences in London life. Through this work, the artist endeavors to explore the hidden connection between aimless escapism and the quest for identity without definite answers. It reflects the ever-growing sense of 'pessoptimism' as humanity grapples with complex emotions.

'In Barcelona, my phone was robbed by a man on a motorbike', an unfortunate but not uncommon incident. However, for a woman who takes pride in being a flâneur, someone who is self-organized and adept at solo travel, this event dealt a blow to her self-perception and was considered a traumatic experience. This prompted the artist to question the definition of a flâneur once again.

'In Barcelona, my phone was robbed by a man on a motorbike', an unfortunate but not uncommon incident. However, for a woman who takes pride in being a flâneur, someone who is self-organized and adept at solo travel, this event dealt a blow to her self-perception and was considered a traumatic experience. This prompted the artist to question the definition of a flâneur once again.

The unexpected happens. In the aura of Walter Benjamin, she started to reconceptualize the word 'flâneur' in contemporary discourse. In French, the feminine equivalent of flâneur is not a female flâneur, but an indoor lounge chair. Apparently, the absence of women was not only present in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but still in contemporary discourse. The urgency of the art is revived.

Finally, we return to Paris, the birthplace of the term flâneur. This project is dedicated to the female flâneur (flâneuse) who, despite apprehension and having experienced the limitations imposed by society on femininity, possesses the strength to venture from 'A Room of One's Own' into the darkness, into the public sphere, engaging with urban spaces, and gaining insight into their own existence—a grand escape. Through a non-linear narrative, following the rhythm of Virginia Woolf's 'Street Haunting,' the video shares thoughts on the coexistence of resilience and vulnerability, a unique and feminine way of accumulating.