The Wall: Journal of Times reflects on mass media and its effects on one's cognition. It derives from the doubts and struggle I experienced as a student from China, where information on mass media is openly censored and controlled. Living in the US, where mass media are seemingly or believed to be free and independent from political interference, I strive to expose the contrary. This work was conceived and executed during the COVID-19 lockdown, comprising a wall installation and a book object. The time-based process is seen as a futile attempt to be in control of my perception on a yearlong quarantine.
Made with New York Times newspaper from March to December in 2020, The Wall: Journal of Times replaces the traditional photographic techniques with the act of carefully selecting, cutting, and collaging the collections of ready-made photography and titles. By deconstructing the linear and hierarchical printed newspapers into an installation with collage-like multidimensional form, with curated contents seemingly diverse and all-embracing as the technological utopianism.
