A Punch on TOFU
2023Experimental video 3’41’’PerformanceWith Tofu
“A Punch on TOFU” is derived from a Chinese idiom, describing the feeling of frustration when one's intense emotions or confrontational signals are met with a soft or indifferent response during an argument.The artist reconsiders the intertextual relationship between the interaction of gestures with materials and human interpersonal dynamics. By narrativizing silent objects, culturally rooted idioms are transformed into symbolic forms. The artist uses improvised performance as a way to revisit emotions, making subtle acts of emotional manipulation visible. Furthermore, the work explores the narrative power of sound, simulating dialogues, arguments, and the emotional dissipation that follows.A Punch on TOFU reflects on the role of the visual in this process of degradation—objects become mere entities characterized by their transparency, the ease with which they can be managed and manipulated, and the cynical convenience of their domestication and exploitation. In the end, the object loses all power of resistance, which ironically is what defines its essence. Resistance is stripped away, reducing it to something entirely manageable.
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