Guo Ronghua

In our view, talking about perennial topicality means talking about our perception of time, history, and human interactions. As we considered this project a collective debate, we’d like to hear more about your ideas as well. What is your perception of perennial topicality? And which element of this idea do you think that the artwork that you presented wants to portray?

Trying to study an individual is complex enough, if I have to deal with historical, social, and human issues, my superficial knowledge seems to be even more scarce. I had to dig into myself and discard some of my personal and unique experiences, when faced with a phenomenon that the whole society experiences together like the pandemic, some viewers might feel the same way I do.

We are all the sum of our experiences, which shape our personality and perception. How did your personal history affect the creation of your artworks and in what way did you bring it into your project? 

My work is about isolation. Last year I was isolated at home for a few months, which changed my understanding of the concept of “home”. The space in the bedroom had a different meaning than before the outbreak, feelings of weather changes, methods of communication, I incorporated these new thoughts into my performance. What struck me the most was that in the morning at home I could hear the radio of the patrol car outside the window, I added the sound of the bell ringing into the performance to represent it.

Due to the centrality of technology as well as the redefinition of our personal space, in these pandemic times the intimacy and the lack of it are now not only lived but conceived differently. How would you describe your perception of intimacy, relationships, and connection today?

The relationship between people is too broad a topic. For a person like me who is alone at home, undoubtedly I am more eager for intimate relationships than before the pandemic. But it is worth mentioning that I did not expect to be surrounded by electronic devices, some relationship come from disconnection, even not real people, people can get emotional comfort in such one-way communication, which is a very interesting phenomenon

What do you expect from the audience’s experience after viewing your work in this digital environment? How do you think that our endless consumption of digital contents is affecting the production and the fruition of artworks? Do you think the virtual exhibition experience will continue to be a possible tool for presenting your research?

Online exhibitions are a way to continue artistic communication during the pandemic. It is a good choice for some digital works, but I also want live exhibitions. Space is a theme I love, photos and videos are hard to express, the presence of the audience is also very important.