2001 TOOT (Screenshots of video works)
VB-0036-002, 2001
3’34”, PAL, 720 x 576, sound, color
This is a relatively neutral choice in terms of bodily characteristics for both women and men, regarding the physical requirements for the model. The model’s body must be entirely free of hair, and they are wrapped continuously in tissue paper, leaving no breathable areas. Water is sprayed from a distance of 50 centimeters above the head, gradually seeping into the paper and body. I overlooked the most critical point: the water quickly trickles down the head, soaking the entire face, and the nostrils and mouth, meant for breathing, are instantly sealed by the wet paper. Breathing is cut off, and the feeling of suffocation quickly sets in. My mind was intensely alert as I suddenly remembered an ancient punishment, where layers of wet paper were plastered onto a person’s face until they suffocated. The water continued streaming down my face as I experienced the sensations between water, paper, skin, and psyche. My time in this state of asphyxiation couldn’t have exceeded two minutes, but the survival instinct took over. Instinctively, I extended my tongue to moisten the paper covering my mouth. It wasn’t too hard to penetrate through the seven or eight layers of wet paper, and the return of breath felt wonderful.
As the tissue covering my body became thoroughly soaked, it naturally started to peel off gradually, and I felt the interaction among my mind, skin, paper, and water.
With forceful effort, I stretched my arms to tear off the paper wrapped around my body. My body, shedding like a cicada, emerged before the people working with me, and they responded with enthusiastic applause, as if they had just witnessed a performance.
Was this a form of validation? Did I need it? Was it a fulfillment of the desire to perform? Did I need that?
I kept pondering this question. If the water had continued to soak through until the paper naturally fell away, without my forceful intervention, the only youthful passion enveloping me would have become even more profound. But perhaps this wouldn’t align well with my psychological and physiological understanding and judgments at that age.
I don’t want to use my present mindset to compensate for memories and passions of my youth.
（Text Provided by the Artist）
