Fei Xiaotong said in the book Rural China, ‘People who make a living directly from agriculture are stuck to the land.’ From the perspective of the relationship between people and space, settling down for generations, that is, not moving, is the norm; migration or mobility is not normal. From the perspective of the distribution of people in space, there is isolation and separation, the population mobility rate is low, and the interaction between communities is also sparse. Its isolation and separation are not based on individuals.
Fei Xiaotong said in the book Rural China, ‘People who make a living directly from agriculture are stuck to the land.’ From the perspective of the relationship between people and space, settling down for generations, that is, not moving, is the norm; migration or mobility is not normal. From the perspective of the distribution of people in space, there is isolation and separation, the population mobility rate is low, and the interaction between communities is also sparse. Its isolation and separation are not based on individuals.
His wife has passed away. His son has worked outside of the village for more than a decade. He has two grandsons, of which the older one is in high school, who is not good at study. He worries about this. His physical health is good.
He usually does farm work at home, planting wheat and rice, and spends the rest of his time helping his son take care of his children.
Their children have been working in the city for more than ten years and only come home during the Chinese New Year. They usually grow rice and wheat at home. Except for the sowing and harvest seasons, they are not busy at other times. They will help take care of their grandchildren at home. They are in good health. In the house where they live, their grandchildren's grafti can be seen everywhere (many of which are painted on the walls). At the same time, there are many grandchildren's toys placed on the ground.
Their son travels around the country all year round and doesn't come home often. The two old people grow a lot of fruit trees and vegetables at home, and they are busy in May and June. There are few other activities, but grandma will do some handicrafts at home. Grandpa Hu's health is not very good. He has heart disease. When it is serious, he will go to the county hospital for treatment. When the children are not at home, they often go to the doctor by themselves.
Dimensions variable
2021-2024
YU DANG is a set of fabric installations that completed in the countryside with emptynesters. I printed the images taken in the village onto fabric, and with the help of difer-ent elderly people, I completed four installations that represented their identities.'Yu Dang" is the Chinese name of the villageand the English translation also has the meaning of lingering and drifting, and I try touse this group of works to give the elderly thecompany that they are missing in their dailylives, and to arouse the public's attention toemnpty nesters.
35cm×35cm×110cm
2024
120cm×100cm
2024
35cm×18cm×45cm
2024
40cm×25cm×56cm
2024