From No.4 Pingyuanli to No.4 Tianqiaobeli (从平渊里4号到天桥北里4号) by Ma Qiusha (马秋莎). Video. 2007.
Ma Qiusha was born in 1982 and currently lives and works in Beijing, China. Ma Qiusha believes that the discovery of “personal history” is a must and that being a Chinese means any personal history can be reflected upon the larger cultural history in the country.
From No.4 Pingyuanli to No.4 Tianqiaobeli is a confessional that explores the artist’s conflict with personal, parental, and societal pressures in order to be considered as successful. Ma reflects on the double-edged relationship between children and parents in Chinese households where parents give children their selfless love with a sense of forcefulness.
Holding a razor blade on her tongue, the artist tells short stories about herself. She describes being compelled to strive for perfection and she talks about a search for meaning and understanding. She wonders about her parents’ approval and worries about her value to society as an artist and a daughter. Her speech is muddled and stunted by the cutting blade. Ma’s language and her facial expression are two clues/paths in this video that have the same destination—pain.
Follow sinθ magazine for more daily posts about Sino arts and culture.
