Mutualism

Introduction

Mutualism has become the driving concept of my artistic practice. The exploration of Mutualism， opens up may questions in relation to the Other， intimacy and the space in between.

In daily life， I am inexplicably interested in some strange creatures that inhabit our world. A possible explanation for such an eccentricity， is that which is identified with otherness. Accordingly， I’m trying to search for something that could explain my “eccentricity”. By connecting with the animality inside myself， whenever I look at invertebrates and other small creatures， I transfer myself into those individual animals. This state blurs the boundary between animal and human. The relationship becomes ambiguous and creates a space in between. The challenge is to become deliberate about my instinctive fascination with other creatures from the natural world. Through this process， a deeper and more intense understanding of these life forms evolves.

My process evolves a rethinking of nature and society， investigating natural landscape and unnatural landscape， questioning our environment and what is “natural” and “unnatural”. These questions may not lead to answers. However， answers are not the most important things for me. The most important thing is the experience of the intimate relationship between myself and small living creatures that I am working with. Through doing these art works， there is an amplification of self-perception and awareness.

The Other

Lacan’s mirror stage[1] mainly describes the formation of the ego and explores how the individual builds a connection between self and the imaginary self in the mirror. In the alienation process， we establish self-identity through the others， in order to fulfill someone else’s desires. By seeing their reflection in the mirror， the babies start to produce pleasure and even narcissism. This reaction can be seen as a desire for a baby to break through from a fragmented and uncoordinated physical condition.

The mirror stage， as one of the most important moments of self-identity， elaborates a very essential point of view： the ego is the other. It is an imaginary， desired， alienated， distorted and misidentified self.

Because I was born in a traditional Chinese family， I have been struggling with the bondage of a feudal ethic. When my self-identity was not fully established， I was passive or even could not choose to accept some of the so-called rules. These rules formed a person， the person who I was expected and desired to be as an Other. All these desires and expectations reshaped me in the core of my being as an imaginary other， I see as this self both fantasy and real； both coherent and fragmentary.

The Space in Between

Artist Stelarc is one of my favorite artists. Over the past thirty years， he has created many bionic devices， and focused on the relationship between human and mechanical， subjective and objective， self and the other. In the mechanical piece - Third Hand， he connects a bionic robot arm into his right hand as an extension of the artist’s body. [2]

With the rapid development of science and technology， emerging techniques continue to challenge and break down the barriers of ethics. Stelarc questioned it as the development of technology， what is a human being？ In contemporary context， this question becomes more and more ambiguous. The figures he created， also created a space in between， between human and robot， the space function as buffer. In this piece， the figure created by Stelarc is neither human nor machine， but the assemblage of human and machine. Thus， the power of the figure is more than machine and human. This concept， the space in between， has inspired me a lot.

I did my undergraduate degree at The Central Academy of Drama. There is a lesson for the performance department called The Liberation of Nature Practice， which I’m really interested in. This practice aims to break the constraints built by the process of growth. By imitating a series of animals， we could release the self deep inside us. Thus， in my recent work Untitled， I try to imitate a slow crawling snail and try to find the animality inside myself. I become animals and even live like an animal.

I see my own experience is the most important part of this piece. I curled on the ground， feeling the ground. The ground got closer to me， closer to my skin. I felt every cell inside my body floating towards the ground. The barrier between my skin and the ground no longer exists gradually， and my imprint is left behind. I began to forget who I am and where I am. Everything becomes blurry， soft， and ambiguous. This state exists in between， between my real self and the illusion of myself， between human and animal. Then， I am inseparable from this illusion， inseparable from the animality of myself at that time. At that moment， I mutualize with the illusion， the animality deep inside myself.

Notes：

[1]Lacan， Jacques. The mirror stage as formative of the function of the I as revealed in psychoanalytic experience. New York： Routledge， 1949.

[2]Atzori， Paolo， and Kirk Woolford. \"Extended-body： Interview with stelarc.\" CTheory （1995）： 9-6.