Mind Hacked: Fantacy of Psychological Ops, 2023. Video ( color, sound; 08:30 minutes)



The work begins with the symbolic connection between "bat women" and "batwoman" during the COVID-19 pandemic. It starts in an artist-constructed laboratory, where the absence of a female researcher makes the animal skins and industrial materials on the ground appear strangely uncanny. The interaction between fragility and metal garments imbues the tin with a subconscious quality, positioning it as a form of resistance to individuality (Freud, 1919).

The installation gradually transforms into a performance video, presented as a single-channel video work that combines the text from the Chinese classical drama The Legend of the White Snake with advertising materials, creating a multi-layered narrative environment. The work explores the cultural roles of animals and women within narrative and linguistic frameworks and their semiotic significance (Barthes, 1977). In a single, mysterious, and transcendent scene, the performer interacts with surrounding objects in a vague and obscure manner, arranged in a layout reminiscent of a dynamic magazine cover (Bhabha, 1994). At first, the text appears unrelated to the scene, but as the imagery unfolds in a hypnotic, slowed-down fashion, the connection is gradually revealed, uncovering a subtle layer of interpretation.

The work, through the lens of faulty feminism, deconstructs and challenges the classical art concepts centered on patriarchy and Western dominance (Haraway, 1991; Halberstam, 2011). It questions the widely accepted cultural symbols, visual images, and information, seeking new interpretative possibilities for the "other" or other species (Spivak, 1988). In doing so, the work offers a critical reflection on and examination of the social and cultural assumptions underlying these symbols, proposing a multi-dimensional approach to liberation and reconstruction, providing an alternative to conventional art language and cultural critique.

References

  • Barthes, R. (1977). Image, Music, Text. Fontana Press.
  • Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The Location of Culture. Routledge.
  • Freud, S. (1919). "The Uncanny." The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud.
  • Haraway, D. J. (1991). Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. Routledge.
  • Halberstam, J. (2011). The Queer Art of Failure. Duke University Press.
  • Spivak, G. C. (1988). "Can the Subaltern Speak?" In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. University of Illinois Press.





Mind Hacked: Fantacy of Psychological Ops, 2023. Installation view

Mind Hacked: Fantacy of Psychological Ops, 2023. Some costume settings and stage details


Mind Hacked: Fantacy of Psychological Ops, 2023. Installation view

Mind Hacked: Fantacy of Psychological Ops, 2023. Warming Trays for food, white latex with acrylic, packaging aids.

Mind Hacked: Fantacy of Psychological Ops, 2023. Blonde wig, light bulb