During your work in Shanghai, what was it like to witness this phenomenon?
Before I went for the first time, I had just gathered information online. So when arrived at the matchmaker’s park for the first time, I was shocked. The level of bustle and excitement was incredible. I went often after that, and people got used to me. Later, when I took photos, the same people were in the park. I reckon it had become a regular part of their lives. Even when the weather was bad people still went. The expression on their faces also shocked me. Many people asked if I had directed my photographic subjects, these women. The answer is it was all by chance. At the time, I just felt the bustle, and noticed that deals were made off to one side among the trees. I did not direct anything. What I saw was what I captured on camera. The matchmakers were all in a similar position. I was also curious about this. This is one of the reasons I went back so often.
In your work you also use other form of creative artistic practices such as videos and installations, how did you come about using these artistic methods to support your photography?
In “The Bliss of Conformity” I wanted to show everyone what was happening in these matchmaker parks, and I wanted people to understand the questions I was raising, my views and emotions.
Documentary evidence, video, and photo books all turn into concept-serving material in the end. I’ve added value to these materials by experimenting, and combining, using photography to reveal something of the relationships at play. Not only what you see, but also what happens between people, in the present continuous tense.
Actually, I started with the paper part, but a part of my research was based on my own feelings about the phenomenon of “leftover women.” This led me to investigate matchmaking parks and arranged marriages. I then developed a study of the “pseudo intimacy” between two sides of an arranged marriage. Working on this later, new ideas came to light. I felt that the “leftover women” part was not clearly reflected from the beginning. We only saw the presence of parents, but the child was also there, just on paper. No one was thinking about that “paper child’s” experiences. In my work, I turned myself into “paper” and materialized the experience by writing my own dating resume. I was not sure whether age was an essential condition at that time, so I wanted to give it a try. What I found was that age really was everyone’s primary consideration. People’s reactions were very real. Even if they did their best to conceal it, you could see it in their eyes. Some people even came up to me in the park to praise my “courage.”