清影

Description: A pair of sodden, red underpants dowsed in expensive perfume appears on a peak time metro train filled with commuters. The video is shot using an iPhone. The exhibition space is filled also with the aroma of perfume. 

Explanation: This work differs somewhat in quality from those I produce usually. Having first been drawn to the “underpants”, commuters’ exaggerated responses and masking of the astringent perfume odour produce an image that is both humorous and ironic. Whether surprised or amused, feigning calm or refusing the spectacle outright, spectators’ identities often determine their responses. The “underpants” become a means of rupturing the everyday, at the same time exuding considerable, narrative intrigue. 

Having been partially “flayed” (its image selectively peeled away) a large, illuminated advertisement billboard of the kind one sees inside metro stations is provided with new captions and imagery. Due to the effect of this intervention on the film of the transparency’s image, the final effect is one of latticing.